Recently, the issue of construction funding in the Indonesian capital of Nusanda has once again become a focus of public opinion. Due to government spending cuts, development funds for Xindu have been temporarily frozen. This incident has not only raised public concerns about the prospects of Xindu's construction, but also placed the relationship between current President Prabowo and former President Joko Widodo in the spotlight.

It is reported that Prabowo issued a decree last month requiring government departments to cut up to 30.6 trillion Indonesian rupiahs (approximately 25.4 billion Singapore dollars) in spending to fund social welfare measures such as the free nutrition meal program for children that he promised during his campaign. However, this decision directly led to a shortage of funds for the construction of Xindu, exacerbating the already slow progress of the construction work.

Although Prabowo has publicly stated multiple times that he will complete the construction of the new capital in East Kalimantan Province, media reports such as the Jakarta Post have pointed out that he has focused more on the free nutritious meal plan after taking office and has not been proactive in accelerating the construction of the new capital. At the same time, although the Prabowo government has promised to allocate 48 trillion Indonesian rupiah for the development of the new capital over the next five years, this figure has significantly decreased compared to the 75 trillion Indonesian rupiah allocated by Joko during his tenure.

Public Works Minister Dodi revealed last week that due to budget freeze, there has been no progress in the construction of Nusanda since the beginning of the year. This news undoubtedly deepens the speculation among the outside world that Prabowo may change course on the Xindu project. In addition, last Friday, a senior official responsible for green development and digital transformation at the Nusanda National Capital Authority suddenly resigned, which has further raised doubts about the future of the new capital.

In response to various speculations and doubts from the outside world, a spokesperson for the governing body of the capital of Nusanda stated that the construction of the new city has not been stopped and employees have not been sent back to their hometowns. However, this response did not completely dispel the public's concerns and doubts.

In this context, the relationship between Prabowo and Zoko has also become a focus of attention from the outside world. Both of them have released signals of friendly relations in the past two days to dispel rumors of discord. Prabowo stated during an event in East Java that attempting to distance himself from Joko was a "foolish" act and reiterated his friendly relationship with Joko. And Zoko also emphasized in a media interview that the relationship between the two is "long-lasting and friendly" and has "never had any problems".

However, despite both showing a friendly attitude, Prabowo's decision on the construction of the new capital undoubtedly had a certain impact on their relationship. Analysts point out that if Prabowo completely shelves the new capital plan, it will jeopardize his alliance with Joko and pose a risk to the stability of the government. Therefore, how to balance the relationship between the construction of the new capital and social welfare expenditures will become a major challenge for the Prabowo government.