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KOTA KINABALU – Several ministers and officials from Putrajaya, Sarawak and Sabah will be heading to Indonesia for talks linked to the relocation of the country’s capital – to be named Nusantara – to East Kalimantan.
Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Sabah adviser and special envoy Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said the visit will take place from March 26 to April 1.
The delegates will be led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, along with International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
“I was made to understand Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joachim Gunsalam and also Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian would also be part of the delegation, as well as myself.
“We have been invited to take part in this trip,” Pandikar said during an online forum organised by the Wisdom Foundation titled The Birth of Nusantara: Opportunities for BIMP-EAGA.
Pandikar noted that a discussion would be held with Indonesian governors, who will be involved in the development of Nusantara, and thereafter, with Indonesia’s National Development Minister Suharso Monoarfa.
It is hoped that the diplomatic and trade ties, which are already strong, between Malaysia and Indonesia would be further enhanced following this visit,” he said.
On Monday, the Jakarta Post reported that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is pressing ahead with an ambitious plan to construct a new Indonesian capital in East Kalimantan, called Nusantara.
Jokowi was making sure that the project moves forward before the end of his term.
On Sunday, three days after he had sworn in the head of the new capital city’s authority, Jokowi flew to East Kalimantan, where he is expected to visit the construction site for the country’s new administrative centre.
With monumental achievements in infrastructure and industrial development already behind him, Jokowi’s determination to forge ahead with his pandemic-delayed Rp 466 trillion (RM136.89 billion) capital relocation plan has underlined the value he attaches to making the project his crowning legacy.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made a three-day working visit to Indonesia on November 9 last year, where he took the opportunity to request for the Indonesian government to accept the participation of Malaysian entrepreneurs in the development of its new capital city. – The Vibes, March 16, 2022
