Indonesia’s Nusantara dream becomes a vice-ridden nightmare
Sex work, cockfighting and illegal gambing are rife in Indonesia’s planned capital city, officials say, raising doubts about its future
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.