Indonesian president in damage control over new capital

JAKARTA — Indonesia's president is rushing to reassure investors and bureaucrats about his US$32 billion (S$43 billion) new capital city in a malaria-prone pocket of Borneo, after the resignations of two officials overseeing the plan raised fresh doubts about its future.

President Joko Widodo's announcement that he will start working next month from an office in Nusantara, a giant construction site over 1,200km from the current capital Jakarta, is unlikely to allay fears about his legacy project, analysts say.

"Investor confidence has dropped, I think. They were already in doubt and in 'wait-and-see' mode, partly because of the unclear land status, partly because of a lack of transparency in governance of the new capital," said Yanuar Nugroho, the president's former deputy chief of staff.

"The resignations worsen this… instead of explaining what really happened, the government is trying to cover it up," he said, describing the president as in damage control mode.

Travelling to Nusantara just a day after the two respected technocrats in charge resigned without explanation, the president broke ground on schools, office complexes and promised foreign investment was coming.

But years after the president announced his signature project, intended to ease the burden on the traffic-ridden, polluted, sinking and over-populated Jakarta, zero foreign funding has been committed.

A presidential spokesperson referred question regarding doubt on Nusantara's future to previous President Widodo's comment saying the project will continue as plan.

Jokowi, as the president is known, leaves office this October after serving the maximum two terms as his legacy project faces a host of problems, including land issues, water supplies, the threat