Indonesia’s dream of a gleaming new capital in the Bornean jungle is fast becoming mired in vice, ambivalence and growing doubts about its future under President Prabowo Subianto.
Once touted as a “smart forest city”, the US$28.5 billion legacy project of former president Joko Widodo has instead emerged as a magnet for prostitution, gambling dens and mounting scepticism.
Local officials and lawmakers warn that illicit activities have flourished, while the city’s governing authority scrambles to play down the scale of the problem – even as the project’s future appears increasingly precarious.
“For the past few days, the media has been filled with unpleasant news, including news related to prostitutes … or commercial sex workers,” lawmaker Muhammad Khozin said during a parliamentary hearing on July 8 with the Nusantara Authority, adding that this could cause anxiety for “the wives of civil servants” based in the city.
“Even though they [the officials] have a lot of money and high positions, if they have problems with their wives, their [freedom] in the world would be narrowed,” he said.
