IKN Spokesperson Troy Pantouw Dies, Natural Causes Cited

Troy Harold Yohanes Pantouw, spokesperson for Indonesia's new capital authority (IKN), passed away on Saturday (25/7) in his housing unit at ASN Rusun 3 Tower 6, IKN City. Thomas Umbu Pati Tena Bolodadi, Deputy for Development Control at the IKN Authority, stated that doctors at RS Hermina IKN confirmed Pantouw's death at 14:25 WITA, after he was rushed to the hospital around 12:45 WITA. The cause of death was confirmed as natural. The incident began when Pantouw was scheduled to travel to Balikpapan at 08:00 WITA to lead a church service. According to information received by Bolodadi, who lives directly across from Pantouw's room, Pantouw had woken up and was active as usual from 06:00 WITA. Concern arose when Pantouw's private driver received no response despite repeated attempts to contact him as departure time approached. The driver then went to Pantouw's room to check on his condition. "The door was knocked and his name was called, but there was still no answer. We then decided to force open the locked room door. When the door was successfully opened, he was found lying on the bed," said Bolodadi. At the time of discovery, the Staff of the Head of the IKN Authority for Public Communication was not breathing. He was subsequently rushed to RS Hermina IKN for medical assessment. Preliminary physical examination revealed no suspicious signs on Pantouw's body. His family also stated that he had a history of hypertension and regularly took medication to control his blood pressure. After the administrative processes and respects were completed at RS Hermina IKN, Pantouw's body was flown to Jakarta. His remains were expected to arrive at the funeral home on Sunday (26/7) morning. Pantouw's passing has left a void for the IKN Authority. He was one of the early generation officials involved in the development of the new capital. Together with Thomas Umbu Pati and Deputy for Environmental Affairs Myrna Safitri, Troy was appointed to assist the Head of the IKN Authority at the time, Bambang Susantono, in overseeing the acceleration of IKN development since 2021. In the early stages of development, when the IKN area was still industrial forest land and lacked office facilities, Troy and the IKN Authority staff worked from Balikpapan, commuting about two hours by road daily until they could occupy the ASN Rusun IKN.