Jokowi's fast train ridiculed by Japan, Indonesian netizens put on lifestyle bodies – 5 hours ago

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The anger of Indonesian netizens is once again being provoked by foreigners. This time, the anger was sparked by a YouTube channel from Japan which mocked the Whoosh fast train.

One of the YouTube channels from Japan, Yukkuri Railway University, uploaded a video discussing the development of Whoosh after officially operating in Indonesia. However, the video has a negative connotation.

“The high-speed train in Indonesia has opened, but the fare is so expensive that local residents cannot ride it,” wrote Yukkuri Railway University in the video title, quoted Thursday (4/1/2024).

Not only the title of the video, the thumbnail used in the video also has a mocking tone, namely the words “0 passengers because the fare is too expensive”, “Betraying Japan and adopting goods made in China”, and “End of Indonesian Railways” in Japanese.

The video thumbnail, which has been watched more than 300 thousand times, has become a hot topic of discussion on the r/Indonesia subreddit. A number of Reddit users from Indonesia also wrote various emotional reactions to the video. Many of them defend Whoosh, even though it is made in China.

“I've heard that it's not just about financing… but China is offering transfer of knowledge too, while Japan is not willing,” said the arsenal-lanesra account.

“They say the country is a traitor even though they were the ones who colonized Indonesia (at least in history books) and almost genocided China. Thief screams thief indeed,” wrote the _nandermind account.

The twists and turns of fast trains in Indonesia

For your information, the Jakarta-Bandung Fast Train (KCJB) project is full of drama. This drama between countries began in early 2015, when the KCJB project was taken over by China from Japan.

At that time, China was chosen by the Indonesian government because it was considered capable of building the KCJB project at a low cost. Initially, China specified funds of US$5.13 billion or around Rp. 79.6 trillion (assuming the current exchange rate is Rp. 15,516/US$) in the initial proposal, but this slowly changed to US$6.071 billion and jumped again to US$7.5 billion or equivalent to IDR 116.37 trillion.

Photo: Whoosh Jakarta-Bandung Fast Train. (Doc. KCIC)

From the start, this project has had its pros and cons. The fast train megaproject in Indonesia was initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in 2008. The Jakarta-Surabaya route is 700 km long. To make it more programmed, SBY seriously included this project in the National Railway Master Plan (RIPNas).

In order to make this happen, the government appointed the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) to conduct research. Japan's choice was based on its success in building the world's first high-speed train or Shinkansen. Then Japanese research revealed that the project required funds of IDR 245 trillion.

Quoting Revy Aulia's research entitled Indonesia-China Cooperation in the 2015 Jakarta-Bandung Fast Train Project in 2019, looking at the size of this figure, the government cannot afford it. As a result, the Jakarta-Surabaya fast train plan failed. Not wanting to give up, Japan then created a blueprint for a Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train that was closer and more economical. However, SBY ignored this blueprint until he stepped down in October 2014.

Until finally, this discourse reappeared when President Jokowi came to power. To be precise, when he visited China and experienced the Beijing-Tianjin fast train, which was 120 km long and took 33 minutes.

Based on archives Second, since then Jokowi has been serious about implementing it in Indonesia. In 2015, China was invited to conduct research. China's presence in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project has clearly disturbed Japan, which had already had the ambition to carry out this project. As a result, competition emerged between the two countries.

Even though Japan was working on it first, the global political climate at that time made China's position in Indonesia's eyes more favorable. At that time, China was indeed expanding its influence in the economic sector. As a world economic giant, this attitude is clearly beneficial for anyone who is embraced by it. If successful, a country will experience economic growth, including Indonesia.

Long story short, Jokowi chose China to work on the fast train. Japan lost and slumped. Then, on October 16 2015, a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) occurred with China Railway International Co. Ltd. This agreement formed a foreign investment company called PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), which is the party behind the fast train project.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(hsy/hsy)