FILE PHOTO: A worker walks in front of the State Palace on Nov. 10, 2024, at the government offices complex in the future capital Nusantara in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan. - Antara via The Jakarta Post/ANN
NUSANTARA: The Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority chief, Basuki Hadimuljono, has acknowledged that prostitution is occurring near the site of the new capital city, but not within the core area.
“The prostitution practices take place in Sepaku region, some three kilometres from the development area,” he said on Wednesday (July 9), as quoted by Kompas.com. Sepaku is a district in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan.
“We uncovered the practices during the Ramadan fasting month and we have conducted enforcement activities with various law enforcement agencies,” Basuki added.
Basuki said the North Penajam Paser Police and the regency administration’s Public Order Agency had joined the IKN Authority’s development control deputy in taking action against the activities.
“There were eight shady stalls that we have dismantled,” he said. “However, there is a possibility that the prostitution practices have moved to another place.”
Basuki also gave an assurance that enforcement activities would be conducted regularly in cooperation with the local law enforcement agencies. “We are not covering it up. If prostitution is taking place, we will certainly take strict measures,” he said.
The issue of prostitution was brought up during a hearing between the IKN Authority and House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs and regional autonomy on Tuesday.
Commission II member Muhammad Khozin revealed widespread occurrences of prostitution in Nusantara, including online bookings facilitated through dating apps. According to Khozin, the problem is believed to have emerged during the first phase of Nusantara’s development between 2022 and 2024, when approximately 27,000 construction workers arrived from various regions across indonesia.
“In the past few days, there have been media reports about prostitutes operating in Nusantara. Why is this important? We do not want the wives of civil servants working in Nusantara to be worried,” Khozin said, as quoted by tirto.co.id. The politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB), added that it might become a moral hazard for the civil servants and could affect their productivity.
Separately, Sahari, the owner of a guest house in Bumi Harapan village, Sepaku, admitted the presence of prostitution since the new capital’s construction started.
“Most of the prostitutes are outsiders, not local villagers,” Sahari told Kompas.com. “Before there was Nusantara, Bumi Harapan village was relatively free of sexual transactions. They only appeared recently.”
North Penajam Paser Public Order Agency Chief Bagenda Ali stated that most prostitutes operating in the Nusantara area offer their services through online applications. “The going rate is between Rp 400,000 [US$24.66] and Rp 700,000 per session,” he said.
The locations are in shanties or guest houses in Bumi Harapan village and the surrounding area, with a rent of between Rp 350,000 and Rp 400,000 per night.
Bagenda said the local authorities had carried out three raids so far and netted 64 prostitutes. They were told to leave Sepaku within three days of being detained.
The prostitutes claim there is high demand, with some serving many clients per day. “Sometimes it can be ten people per day, very tiring but the money is good,” one prostitute told Kompas.com.
The majority of the customers are workers who come from outside of Kalimantan and seldom involve locals.
The prostitutes came from various provinces such as West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi and even Sumatra, enticed by high demand and generous customers. Some of them were recruited by procuresses, known as "mami", who take care of all their needs, from lodgings to looking for customers. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
