The Chancellor of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Prof. Panut Mulyono, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chancellor of Universitas Balikpapan, Isradi Zainal, virtually as a form of educational cooperation in the development of research and innovation. This collaboration aims to oversee and manage the construction of the new Capital City (IKN) of Indonesia in East Kalimantan on Tuesday (6/7). It would contribute to the improvement, filling all types of deficiencies, the IKN development plan prepared by Bappenas. The Governor of East Kalimantan, Isran Noor, and the supervisor of the Dharma Wirawan Kaltim Higher Education Foundation (Yapenti-DWK), Rendi Susiswo Ismail witnessed the signing event.
Regarding the efforts to supervise this project, UGM Chancellor, Panut Mulyono, gave several notes. Panut said that moving IKN from Jakarta to East Kalimantan was a brilliant and future-oriented idea and would have a better impact on Indonesia. However, the development of the new IKN needs to consider some aspects.
First, development requires support and political commitment from the general public. Therefore, it requires a narrative that many people can understand, including the younger generation.
“We need a narrative that can be understood by many parties, particularly about the importance (of IKN), and others, “said Panut during the signing of the MoU and Talkshow on Overseeing & Organizing the New IKN in Sepaku & Samboja Kaltim. The talk show was broadcast through the Universitas Balikpapan YouTube channel.
Second, the master plan and IKN development should be framed in the regional development context, specifically through Balikpapan – IKN – Samarinda.
Third, it is no less important to pay attention to environmental impact assessment and mitigation issues. Panut said these issues are very crucial because the island of Kalimantan is considered the world’s lungs. The development of IKN in East Kalimantan will automatically become a gamble for Indonesia from the global perspective. Panut encouraged that this development should minimize intervention on nature.
Finally, Panut also asked the government to rethink the stages of its development by considering the pandemic conditions and the country’s financial problems. The inclusion of public funds must be a priority.
Moreover, Panut asked the government to consider IKN planning very carefully because several other national problems still need attention. These problems are related to the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic recovery, and high imports in the market. For this reason, education, research, and innovation also need to be further improved to raise Indonesia’s competitiveness globally. In addition, there are still problems of environmental damage, climate change, SDGs, and others.
“Don’t just spend the nation’s energy and resources on IKN. It is certain that IKN has been decided and should be followed up, but we must work on it,” concluded Panut.
