Question: At which of the following island, Indonesia recently announced to shift its new capital?
(a) Komodo
(b) Sulawesi
(c) Sumatra
(d) Borneo
Answer: (d)
Related facts:
- On August 26, 2019, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo announced that the government has decided to pick up new capital for the country in Borneo.
- The new capital now will be established at sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on forested Borneo Island.
- With more than 10 million people, the current capital of Jakarta became overcrowded.
- The old capital city also sits on watery land and parts of the city are sinking by as much as 25cm a year and almost half now sits below sea level.
- The proposed location, not named yet, is close to the regional cities Balikpapan and Samarinda.
- This area is located in the geographical center of the South East Asian Islands and there is a ‘minimum’ risk of natural disaster.
- The new location is less populated with only 3.5 million people and has 180,000 hectares (444,780-acre) of land.
- This area is surrounded by Kutai National Park, known for orangutans and other primates and mammals.
- Orangutans:
- Orangutans are great apes mostly found in Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Orangutans, as opposed to monkeys, and are closely related to humans, having 97% of DNA in common.
- Orangutans are extremely patient and intelligent mammals. They are very observant and inquisitive.
Links:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/indonesia-picks-borneo-island-for-new-capital/articleshow/70848708.cms?from=mdr
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49470258
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/indonesia-new-capital-borneo-jakarta-scli-intl/index.html