Dream - East Kalimantan Governor Pj Akmal Malik believes that the future of Indonesia lies in the eastern region. This is because there are still many untapped potential natural resources in the eastern part of Indonesia. He conveyed this during his appearance as a guest on Helmi Yahya Bicara's YouTube channel on Friday, May 17, 2024.

"West Indonesia may become a thing of the past for Indonesia. The future of Indonesia lies in the eastern region. Because there are still many untapped natural resources there," he said. Therefore, according to Akmal, there is a need for equal development starting from central Indonesia, namely in the Capital of the Archipelago (IKN) located in East Kalimantan."

According to him, the process of development equalization does require a process. However, if the central government is located in the central part of Indonesia, the policies taken will be oriented towards the eastern community. "This means that policies are made and taken from regions will certainly be oriented towards how to ensure that the east will have even greater opportunities in the future," he said.

Akmal added, building the eastern region is indeed not easy. Limited infrastructure and the lack of good education among its people, unlike the western region. According to him, the existence of IKN in East Kalimantan will determine Indonesia's progress. He believes that East Kalimantan is ready to become the center of Indonesian government in the future. One of the reasons is its potential for developing the food sector.

From a wide geographical perspective, a large number of productive Human Resources (HR), and the continuously increasing food needs. Especially in welcoming the arrival of IKN residents from outside Kaltim. "Geographically, Kaltim is vast. But in my opinion, the first thing that needs attention in realizing food security is the agricultural culture that must be possessed by the community," said Akmal.