Indonesia is heeding advice from one of its Asian neighbours as it strives to be at the forefront of effective governance through information technology. According to a statement, Dwi Wahyu Atmaji, Secretary of the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, announced that the government is in the process of carrying out knowledge-sharing activities with South Korea in a bid to enhance its Electronic-Based Government System or what it commonly calls the SBPE.
The ministry added that it has collaborated with South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a tie-up which the Indonesian Ministry believes will help support the government in its transition to more innovative methods of public service including communications technology.
Some of the key areas which the government plans to scale up are the public health, education and services sector. Innovative techniques gathered from the collaboration shall likewise be applied to ensure crime prevention and produce a rapid response to emergencies.
With a plethora of innovative techniques waiting at the sidelines, the secretary said that the government must adapt fast to innovation and realize that digital transformation is a necessity for all governments around the globe. While embracing digitalisation is a massive leap, innovative transformation must be accompanied by a change in mindset and culture. This will not only improve governance but help in achieving the country’s sustainable development goals.
The statements were made by the secretary during the Korea-Indonesia Digital Government Cooperation Programme. At the session, the secretary said, “We know that Korea is very advanced in using information technology to reform the bureaucracy in place. Therefore, we are working with Korea to organise this webinar”.
In the same press release, Suh Boram, Director General for Public Data Digital Government Bureau, attested to the long-standing cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea. One of the products of the agreement was the launching of the Electronic Government Cooperation Center (e-GCC) in Indonesia.
The Director added that there are plans to re-open the e-government centre next year, a move which he described as “an example of a close partnership” with the South Korean government.
Implementing an e-governance framework
The e-governance framework was provided for under Presidential Regulation 95 of 2018. It includes a master plan that will ensure an efficient sharing and use of government data for public needs and services.
The e-government model contains four pillars for integration. These are strengthening the management system, developing electronic-based services like Government-to-Government (G2C), Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), and Government-to-Employees (G2E) procedures, information and communications development and human resource development.
Rini Widyantini, the Deputy for Institutional and Administration of the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, said that some of the challenges in the implementation of the e-governance system are lack of capacity of government offices to interpret the scope and coverage of the SPBE and the traditional mindset of employees and officials in upholding their own concepts to run the electronic-based model.
In terms of ICT development, the Deputy added that government offices could take advantage of innovative solutions, including artificial intelligence and big data sharing and analysis.
Aside from streamlining governance techniques, Indonesia is also beefing up its trade and industries sector with help from technology. As reported by OpenGov Asia, the country’s Trade Ministry has reiterated the necessity for and the positive economic impact of digitalisation, particularly in assisting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises wade through tough times in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government said that MSMEs can improve business operations and penetrate bigger markets through an intensive rollout of campaign activities coursed through different digital platforms.
