From ‘Saint Jokoburg’ to ‘Jokopolis’, Indonesia’s new capital sparks name meme fest on Twitter

President Joko Widodo’s announcement sparked a wave of Google searches for ‘Penajam Paser Utara’ and ‘Kutai Kartanegara’, the two municipalities the new capital will straddle

Urban planners and environmentalists have weighed in on the costs of constructing a city in East Kalimantan

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:46pm, 28 Aug 2019Updated: 10:32pm, 28 Aug 2019

An hour after Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that the country’s capital would move from Jakarta to a site on Borneo island, there was a surge in Google searches for “Penajam Paser Utara” and “Kutai Kartanegara”, the two municipalities the new city will straddle.

Indonesians led the way with the searches, followed by Malaysia, then Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But it was Indonesian Twitter users who got the most creative, issuing memes and jibes about the tongue-twisting names of the two regencies and suggesting names for the yet-to-be named new city.

“What’s the capital of the USA? Washington DC. What’s the capital of Indonesia? Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara. Wow, that is a long name,” said Twitter user @rosadicted.

Names suggested included Saint Jokoburg, Penakut (a mash-up of the two regencies that translates to “scaredy cat”), Jokowikarta (in reference to Widodo’s nickname Jokowi), Jakarta the second and Kota Indonesia (Indonesia city).