The Turbulence of the Nusantara Capital City Development

Mhd Zakiul Fikri

... what is currently required by the government to mitigate the occurrence of land conflicts arising from land acquisition for projects in the National Capital City region is to prioritize a humanistic approach.

No foreign investors have invested in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project. Although many investors have claimed to have sent letters of interest, they appear to be more inclined to wait and see the project’s progress. One point that has drawn attention is the unresolved land acquisition issues leading to land conflicts between the state and affected communities. The recent maltreatment of the Indigenous people is just one example.

Despite all-out efforts by the government to attract investors’ attention to the project, they will face significant challenges. Few individuals would dare to invest in land embroiled in conflict. Investors adhere to increasingly stringent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, especially in developed countries. Thus, land conflicts will significantly influence investors’ commitment to participate in the IKN development process.

The recent plan of the IKN Authority to evict indigenous inhabitants who have resided for a long time in the designated capital city has sparked controversy because it reminds people of the common practices during Soeharto’s 32-year ruling in the name of national development. The same dirty tactics were used a few months ago on Rempang Island in Riau, although the local inhabitants have lived there for generations.

On March 8, hundreds of residents attended an invitation for “socialization” from the Authority. The meeting concluded after attending residents protested the unilateral decision of the authority body to demolish their homes.  Villagers in the vicinity of the IKN, such as Bumi Harapan, Pemaluan, Tengin Baru, and Suka Raja villages, received warning letters from the IKN Authority. The issuance of these warning letters is justified by the claim that the residential houses of the community are situated within the IKN region and are required to relocate immediately.

About 20,000 indigenous peoples from 21 indigenous communities live in the area. They have lived and sustained their daily livelihoods from the natural resources surrounding their settlements for many years. The indigenous or local communities have traditionally occupied the physical land without any dispute before the IKN project claimed the area. 

The legal politics of land acquisition conducted by the government has led to friction between indigenous communities seeking to defend their land resources and the government requiring land to develop the IKN project. The people are subjects of law protected by the national land law regime, such as the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law, the 2012 Land Acquisition Law, and the 1997 Government Regulations on Land Registration.

However, instead of obtaining legal recognition through the object of land reform or social forestry programs, indigenous settlements and local communities that have long inhabited the area are often labeled as unauthorized development violators and non-compliant with spatial planning by the government.  One aspect highlighted in the land acquisition for the development of the Nusantara Capital City is the issue of cognitive justice, procedural justice, and distributive justice for the affected communities. These three concepts of justice are closely related to applying the principle of free prior and informed consent. 

According to this principle, any development or even land clearance is not permitted without the consent of the affected communities, especially indigenous communities who have long inhabited the areas targeted for land acquisition for development. This principle can be found in Article 10 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Let us examine how this principle is applied in land acquisition to develop the IKN project. Rather than soliciting views, input, or approval from affected communities, from the outset, the invitations to meetings held by the government through the IKN Authority were more oriented towards socialization for the community. 

We must pay attention to article 15A of the IKN Law, which stipulates that one of the lands in the IKN originates from community-owned land, including “land controlled by rightful parties, by the provisions of land regulation.”  Thus far, the approach taken by the government has been excessively regulatory and top-down. Suddenly, laws regarding the IKN emerged, delineating its geographical coordinates. Society has merely been positioned as objects in development rather than subjects; they have never been involved.

This has made policies vulnerable to not aligning with the factual conditions faced and desired by the affected communities. Therefore, what is currently required by the government to mitigate the occurrence of land conflicts arising from land acquisition for projects in the National Capital City region is to prioritize a humanistic approach.

Despite all-out efforts by the government to attract investors’ attention to the project, they will face significant challenges. Few individuals would dare to invest in land embroiled in conflict. Investors adhere to increasingly stringent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, especially in developed countries. Thus, land conflicts will significantly influence investors’ commitment to participate in the IKN development process. The government’s political will is genuinely expected to be grounded alongside the affected community—particularly indigenous communities who have long regarded the development area of the National IKN as vital for their livelihoods.

*Artikel ini pernah terbit di The Jakarta Post edisi Rabu tanggal 20 Maret 2024 dengan judul “Nusantaracapital city land clearance scares native inhabitants, investors”