January 28, 2023

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Singapore government to distribute more than 450,000 contact-tracing devices to all migrant and local workers

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The Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group, in partnership with the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, the Building and Construction Authority, the Economic Development Board and industry partners such as The Singapore Contractors Association, will be distributing more than 450,000 contact-tracing devices to all migrant and local workers living or working in dormitories, as well as those in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors.

The distribution of the devices will be carried out in phases from 18 October 2020 and is expected to be completed by early November 2020.

Contract Tracing Devices purpose built for worksite environments

The contact-tracing devices, BluePass tokens, are purpose-built for the dormitory and worksite environment. They are compact and water-resistant, and can be worn at all times.

They will be interoperable with and complement the use of the TraceTogether app on migrant workers’ smartphones, as some workers may not always be carrying their phones at work and at the dormitories.

The ACE Group and sector agencies will trial and evaluate how these tokens function and perform in the rugged work environments, and how the data from the tokens can help improve contact tracing and the quarantine process when new COVID-19 cases are detected.

Tokens will help minimise COVID-19 transmission and work disruptions

This will benefit employers and workers because only close contacts will be isolated, thereby minimising any work disruptions.

Data can also be extracted from the tokens, to assess the extent of intermixing amongst the workers. This can help employers and workers better understand how preventive measures can be taken to minimise intermixing and potential transmission of the virus.

The contact-tracing devices will be distributed with the support of the Forward Assurance and Support Teams  to migrant workers living in purpose-built dormitories.

Workers living in other types of accommodation will be issued their devices at Regional Screening Centres for Rostered Routine Tests.

Self-collection points will be set up for workers residing in decant sites and other forms of accommodation. Employers and workers will be informed of the collection dates subsequently.

 

Photo Credit: www.gov.sg

Indonesia to Enhance Digital Public Mall Services

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The Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) join forces with a government IT firm to create a digital Public Service Mall (MPP). The initiative is a follow-up to President Joko Widodo’s directive to establish MPP Digital.

According to Minister PANRB Abdullah Azwar Anas, the IT government company is more advanced in digitalisation implementation. MPP Digital incorporates numerous services into the hand to make it easier for people to access high-quality government services.

“MPP Digital provides effective and efficient service delivery while enhancing information security for government digital services. The government IT company team will expedite the President’s vision for MPP Digital,” he explained.

MPP Digital is also expected to increase investment by allowing for faster and easier licencing, leading to job possibilities. In addition, the local administration will not need to construct a massive MPP building but will rely on digitalisation that everyone can access.

MPP Digital is expected to be ready by May 2023, following the President and Vice President’s directives. The creation of MPP Digital is also under the government’s present implementation of the Electronic Based Government System (SPBE).

At the same time, Ririek Adriansyah, the Main Director of the government IT company, declared his willingness to support the government’s initiative. He conveyed that the construction of MPP Digital was proceeding as planned because the digitalisation of services has enormous potential benefits for both the government and the general public.

Additionally, the government is working hard to progress SPBE, including introducing Digital Public Service Malls (MPP) as one of SPBE’s expressions. SPBE is also a component of President Joko Widodo’s Thematic Bureaucratic Reform, which is aimed at digitising government services.

The next Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) aims to strengthen unity by offering a single access system for the country’s digital services, resulting in higher public service quality. Nowadays, the state’s digital public sector is still fragmented by agency, sector, and silo-based systems. As a result, citizens are frequently required to submit similar data and register several accounts to access various digital-based public sector services.

As a result, Anas will pursue a single sign-on account for users to access various government services. Users can utilise their accounts to access all public services e-services, such as population issues, business permissions, and other certifications. Digital MPP has done so following President Jokowi’s and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin’s objective to achieve bureaucratic reform with simple, powerful, and quick replies to the community.

 

More MPPs have been built and inaugurated by the government. In the future, all regions will have physical and digital MPPs, with all government services based on demographic numbers (Digital ID). MPP Digital, on the guidance of the President and Vice President, has become the PANRB ministry’s short-term focus.

As of December 2022, 103 MPPs (20% of the total of 514 regencies/cities in Indonesia) had been inaugurated in regencies and cities. Thus, fewer than 80%, or approximately 411 districts/cities, still need MPP. The Vice President aimed for roughly 150 new MPPs in 2023, with all towns and regencies having MPPs by the end of 2024.

The Ministry of PANRB has evaluated 10-15 MPPs (Public Service Malls) for inclusion in the future Digital MPP development process. These MPPs were chosen for their uniqueness, benefits, and good qualities. In general, the MPP Digital application development will be divided into four stages: requirements, design, testing, and upgrading.

Anas emphasised that government digitisation is a critical driver in enhancing the quality of public services, which would increase people’s well-being. Bureaucratic reform must increase investment and streamline business services, boosting the economic level of society. Improving the community’s financial level will undoubtedly influence the lowering poverty rate.

Managing E-Commerce to Prevent Tax Loss in Vietnam

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This year, the government wants relevant ministries and agencies to tighten management and increase oversight of e-commerce activities to identify violations and prevent tax losses. The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency will work with departments from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Ministry of Finance to share data and better regulate business activity on social media and in cyberspace.

The inspections will also focus on ensuring that e-commerce platforms and social networks are taking proper steps to screen, prevent and block accounts that do not provide adequate information or have signs of trading in counterfeit or illegal goods.

The E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency will continue to collaborate with other government agencies such as the Market Management Agency, the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and MIC to inspect and monitor e-commerce businesses for compliance with the law, in accordance with plans approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

The agency will also evaluate existing policies and make practical changes to improve the management of e-commerce business activities. It will upgrade infrastructure and supporting services and incorporate new technologies to assist the digital transformation of businesses.

Furthermore, the agency will offer training to improve the inspection and handling of violations in e-commerce. It will organise events to promote anti-counterfeiting and encourage e-commerce website operators to better protect consumers’ interests.

Last year, Vietnam’s e-commerce industry continued to grow and become a significant distribution channel. As the economy recovers from the pandemic, e-commerce has been a leading sector in the digital economy. A survey from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that retail e-commerce revenue in Vietnam increased by 20% in 2022 as compared to 2021, reaching US$ 16.4 billion. This accounted for 7.5% of the total retail sales of goods and services in the country.

To establish trust for consumers in online shopping, safeguard legitimate traders, and foster e-commerce development, the government reviewed and requested e-commerce companies to remove or lock 1,663 stalls with 6,437 counterfeits or violated goods, and blocked five infringing websites.

Experts recommend that there should be regulations on the responsibility of information security of relevant organisations and individuals in order to prevent tax loss and protect business interests. This includes regulations on the security of websites and the responsibility to provide information to tax authorities, which would help make tax management more effective.

Associate Professor Le Xuan Truong, Director of the Academy of Finance’s Faculty of Taxation and Customs under the Ministry of Finance, suggested that the government should implement a regulation that forces e-commerce trading floors to be responsible for withholding and paying taxes on behalf of individuals as well as perform payment intermediary services and participate in operating and controlling delivery activities and receiving money from buyers. Over 40 countries worldwide so far have regulated the responsibility of e-commerce exchanges in deducting taxes of individuals if the floor provides payment services, or directly participates in the delivery and receipt of goods by buyers and sellers.

Indonesia to Develop Integrated Health Data System

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Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health, announced the development of SATUSEHAT, an interoperable Indonesian health data system. Budi aimed to complete the digitalisation of health data by January 2024. In keeping with the spirit of an impactful bureaucracy, the Minister of Health is sure Indonesians would benefit from digitisation.

“The concept is interchangeable; (health facilities) can use the information anywhere: all hospitals, both public and private, pharmacies, clinics, health centres, and labs throughout Indonesia will use the same data format, and (the data) can be exchanged,” he said at the launch of the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) Space in Jakarta.

SATUSEHAT is a health platform that serves as a forum for various health apps from companies in the health business. As a result, all applications and health service facilities on the SATUSEHAT platform, including vertical hospitals, government hospitals, private hospitals, health centres, Posyandu, laboratories, clinics, and pharmacies, must adhere to the Ministry of Health’s criteria.

People no longer need to carry physical medical record files while moving hospitals because of this platform. All patient medical record resumes have been digitally captured on the SATUSEHAT platform, which can be viewed from anywhere and at any time using mobile phones.

“For certain users who haven’t been able to produce health applications, we can aid later. (And) We can eventually give standard and free applications for significant stakeholders such as Puskesmas (community health centres) and Posyandu (toddler integrated service post). This way, we can do data integration elegantly on the same platform,” Budi confirmed.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health established DTO as a Ministry of Health work unit dedicated to implementing the Healthy Indonesia programme by developing effective data-driven policies and digital technology products. User-Based Technology Development, National Health Data Integration, Technology Capacity Building, and Data-Based Policy Making are the four principles of digital transformation being implemented.

Budi directed the DTO and the Data and Information Centre (Pusdatin) to take meaningful actions to expedite national health data digitisation. DTO must complete nationwide health interoperability that is transparent and accessible to all parties. The merger process started on July 6, 2022, and is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

Another challenge is to combine clinical and genomic data to assess the health of the Indonesian population deployed with Artificial Intelligence to create more detailed and exact results. AI will subsequently support the Ministry of Health’s clinical and genomic data. The services are designed to help Indonesia advance health biotechnology.

During the inauguration ceremony, the Minister for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), Abdullah Azwar Anas, praised the Ministry of Health’s digital transformation in the healthcare system. He anticipated that the shift would affect at least five items. First and foremost, it increases the quality of healthcare services. Second, it improves access to healthcare services. Third, raise the added value of the health sector economy with a focus on domestic goods.

Fourth, speeding the achievement of the government’s main healthcare projects, such as lowering stunting prevalence. Fifth, strengthen health human resource expertise while guaranteeing equitable distribution across the country.

“For example, we may ensure that a health concern is treated by integrating data, then monitoring therapy until the assessment is entirely digitally driven. We can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic, in which health technology was extremely useful in combating the pandemic,” he went on to say.

Anas believes that the Ministry of Health’s SATUSEHAT will soon be merged with the National Electronic-Based Government System. He praised the tremendous efforts made by the Ministry of Health to implement digital transformation.

The Ministry of Health’s consolidation initiative can serve as a model for other Ministries/Institutions looking to increase work units’ roles in supervising the government’s digitalisation activities. Anas is optimistic that the integrated ecosystem of digital health data will be a huge step forward for the country’s health sector.

Thailand Proposes an Act to Deal with Online Crime

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Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, disclosed that the Cabinet adopted the Royal Decree Measures for Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crime in principle. Accordingly, the act was assigned to the Office of the Council of State for consideration before further enforcement.

In essence, the proposed order prescribes steps to prevent and suppress deceit in people transferring money by telephone or other means. The law also grants authorities the authority to regulate financial transactions. It prohibits opening accounts on electronic cards or wallets to bring money or property to be used in criminal acts.

The proposed Decree requires financial institutions and business operators to disclose information about their client’s accounts and transactions via a data exchange system to suspend transactions when necessary.

“The drafting of this law is a collaboration of several agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, the NBTC Office, and the Bank of Thailand. Thai Bankers Association Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), etc., believe that this regulation will undoubtedly assist in eliminating the problem of ghost sims, pony accounts, and online crime problems,” Chaiwut clarified.

Procedures for halting transactions can be done when a financial institution or business operator discovers a questionable issue or is told by a competent official. They must advise financial institutions or business owners to halt transactions. The transmitting financial institution or company operator must promptly halt future transactions. They can comply with the transaction if they inspect and find no suspicious cause.

If the victim reports a fraudulent transaction, financial institutions or business operators must immediately and temporarily cease transactions and tell financial institutions or business operators receiving transfers to do the same. For the victim to file a complaint with the investigators within 48 hours, the investigators must act on that account and electronic wallet within seven days of notification. Notification of information or evidence can be sent by phone or electronically.

Furthermore, Telecommunication Service Providers have the authority to communicate information and allow the Royal Thai Police, AMLO offices, and approved agencies to view the information exchanged. At the same time, the Office of the NBTC is in charge of developing the central database for user registration information, short messages, investigation, and prevention.

The use or disclosure of personal data to prevent, detect, and deter online crime will follow personal data protection legislation. It is required to properly tackle the social media problem of fraudulent people and eliminate some legal issues that cause the integration of work between multiple agencies to be stopped or delayed in the current situation.

The act governs the usage of an account and a SIM card. It will instruct consumers to create a personal account for an electronic card or wallet. The act of opening a without the purpose of using it will be considered an infringement. Anyone who knowingly or ought to knowingly allow another individual to use or borrow their SIM card is breaking the law since criminals could use it for fraud or illegal conduct. Breaches of this law may be imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 300,000 baht (US$9163.10) or both.

It is illegal for anybody to obtain, market, or post news to purchase or sell accounts, electronic cards, electronic wallets, or phone sim cards that may result in criminal activity. Anyone who breaches this will face imprisonment for 2 to 5 years and a fine ranging from 200,000 baht (US$9163.1) to 500,000 baht (US$15271.84) or both.

When aberrant behaviour is discovered or a complaint is made to the bank and enables banks and relevant organisations to reveal and exchange information about online crimes through a standard database system. Thai authorities have the authority to suspend or postpone financial transactions for an extended length of time.

Special Wisit Wisitsorn-at, Professor, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, expressed the MDES need to present the draft to the Office of the Council of State for review and consideration before the announcement goes into effect.

Singapore Researchers Develop Compact Sonar for Improved Underwater Imaging

Image credit: National University of Singapore
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Researchers from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) have created a dolphin-like sonar device with a new echo processing technique that enables clearer underwater images compared to the traditional signal processing method of visualising sound echoes.

The new sonar processing method could have potential benefits in underwater commercial or military sonars. It could be used to scan the seabed to search for features that can be used to aid navigation. The sonar’s compactness also makes it suitable to be mounted on underwater robots for ocean exploration.

The processing method is based on the hypothesis that dolphins use prior information about their environment, apart from broadband sound pulses, to interpret their echoes. The sonar uses information on the sparsity of objects, which allows for a better interpretation of sound echoes.

According to a press statement, the new device provides a better trade-off between sonar-image clarity, the number of sensors, and the size of the sensor array used as compared to current sonars of similar size and purpose. Conventional echo processing techniques tend to fail when sensors are limited in number or widely spaced. The new sonar processing method, however, can extract information and yield image clarity even in these situations.

The researchers noticed that dolphins had the ability to scan underwater objects acoustically and match them visually, indicating that a dolphin’s sound echoes emitted off an object contain information about the object’s shape. They then recorded the echoes emitted by dolphins when scanning an object in the water.

Using their observations as a guide, the team constructed a biomimetic sonar that mimics a dolphin’s sonar system. The device, which is about the size of a dolphin’s head and measures 25 cm in width, is designed to emit sharp, impulsive clicking sounds, similar to those used by dolphins for echolocation.

The team employed three transmitters to send sounds from different directions. They then analysed the echoes produced by both the dolphin and the biomimetic sonar to visualise what information about the object’s shape was revealed in the echoes.

To complement the hardware, the team developed software that improves the visualisation of echoes. The researchers incorporated the concept of sparsity into the sonar’s software. This assumes that out of the space scanned, only a small percentage is occupied by the object. According to Hari Vishnu, Senior Research Fellow at NUS TMSI, “Using prior information, such as the idea of sparsity, is intuitive. It is something humans do all the time – we turn our understanding of reality into expectations that can speed up our inferences and decisions. For example, in the absence of other information, the human brain and vision system tend to assume that in an image, the light on an object will be falling from above.”

The effectiveness of the software was demonstrated when it was able to visualise information from a dolphin’s sonar echoes when scanning an object, as well as sonar signals produced by their compact sonar. A conventional approach to processing both sonar echoes resulted in noisy images. However, the novel processing approach gave better resolution and therefore sharper images. The software is also able to generate visualisations with a mere three clicks from the sonar, thus allowing it to be operationally fast.

Streamlining Indonesia’s Digital Transformation

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Abdullah Azwar Anas, Minister of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) observed that the state digital public service sector is still fractured by agency, sector, and silo-based systems. As a result, citizens must frequently enter similar data and create several accounts to access various digital-based public sector services. Therefore, the next Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) aims to improve unity by providing a single access system for the country’s digital services, resulting in better public service quality.

“The Presidential Decree on the Architecture of the National SPBE also aims to integrate separate digital services into an inclusive digital service through the National Government Administration Portal and the National Public Service Portal, aka digital Public Service Mall (MPP),” Anas explained in a meeting with representatives from various ministries/agencies at the Ministry of Home Affairs office in Jakarta.

The government is making significant efforts to advance SPBE, including introducing Digital Public Service Malls (MPP) as one of SPBE’s manifestations. SPBE is also a part of President Joko Widodo’s Thematic Bureaucratic Reform to digitise government services.

The Thematic Bureaucratic Reform focuses on five areas: poverty reduction, increased investment, digitisation of services, domestic spending, and inflation management. The thematic bureaucratic reform scheme has been implemented and will be applied inside the TNI (national army), Polri (federal police), and the Attorney General’s Office.

Furthermore, the government has physically constructed and inaugurated more MPPs. In the future, all regions will have MPPs that are not only physical but also digital, containing all government services based on population statistics (Digital ID). According to the advice of the President and Vice President, MPP Digital has become the ministry’s short-term focus.

As a result, the Ministry PANRB, in collaboration with the Ministries of Home Affairs, Communication and Informatics, BSSN, and Finance, is working to execute Thematic Bureaucratic Reforms. According to the President’s directives, the programme must impact society through the execution of SPBE.

The PANRB ministry would continue supervising SPBE implementation through the SPBE Coordinating Team. To design SPBE architecture, the team requires a plan and linked steps. The national SPBE architecture is supposed to maintain the integration of National Digital Services while handling the national programme theme.

The plan clarified each job description to eliminate overlapping work and maximise the coordinated approach. The structure will also serve as a guide to align digitisation initiatives to make them more effective and efficient. In addition, a timeframe for the implementation plan has been established to simultaneously carry out the National SPBE Architecture strategic effort.

Johnny G. Plate, Minister of Communication and Informatics, who also participated in the coordination meeting, explained that the Ministry of Communication and Information is currently building a National Data Centre (PDN), a government service liaison system, and an intra-government network to support SPBE. In addition, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics also develops and harmonises applications, creates SPBE super-apps, and employs big data analytics and artificial intelligence in collaboration with other ministries/institutions.

President Jokowi indicated that the bureaucracy movement must relate to the government’s main aims for the bureaucracy to impact society. With 4.2 million government employees in Indonesia, the government created a new performance measure for them. All the KPIs (key performance indicators) are aligned with the government’s main initiatives, which include investment, poverty, digitisation, inflation, and TKDN (domestic component level in government spending).

Assessment of bureaucratic reform (RB) of ministries/agencies and regional governments as of 2023 must be more directed towards fixing downstream community problems that are the government’s priority, namely poverty eradication, improved investment, digitising services, spending on domestic products, and inflation control.

The Philippines Open to Collaborate to Boost Digitalisation Efforts

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The Philippines embraces any cooperation that may aid the government’s digitisation attempts. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. confirmed this at an open discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, where he lauded his administration’s digitalisation initiatives and gains in bureaucratic efficiency.

Since security is a significant concern, President Marcos urges the development of a cybersecurity system for the government’s essential information. The administration has increased efforts to develop a cybersecurity system, a critical component of digitalising the bureaucracy. Moreover, local governments have stepped in to support the construction of digital infrastructure to increase internet connectivity for all Filipinos across the country.

“Local governments and some agencies would take the initiative and establish communication networks… As a result, everything must now be integrated and assembled. We’re also creating government databases, forming databases for the national ID, (and) putting it in place right away,” President Marcos Jr concluded.

Under the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Broadband ng Masa and Free Wi-Fi for All projects, the current administration has enabled thousands of previously offline regions. President Marcos Jr met with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Digital Infrastructure on January 12 to discuss the council’s digital infrastructure work plan. He and the PSAC members discussed the future of the country’s digital infrastructure.

Senate Bill No. 383, also known as the Digital Transformation in Basic Education Act, has been issued to accelerate national infrastructure development for information and communications technology (ICT). The bill directs the National Telecommunications Commission to designate locations for telecommunications tower installation. Priority will be given to missionary areas that are yet unconnected, unserved, or underserved.

Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte also advocates for free internet in all public schools. The remark was made after she visited the Pinaglabanan Elementary School’s Free Fibre Optic Internet Connection and Free Wi-Fi Programme in San Juan City last month. She commended the city for effectively implementing the project, which aims to strengthen the city’s public education system through increased access to information technology.

The Department of Science and Technology will support DepEd and the Department of Information and Communications Technology under Gatchalian’s bill. The policy also aims to increase all schools’ ICT capacity to adopt distant learning and to propel the primary education sector into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

President Marcos Jr also requested an update on the implementation of Republic Act 11934, also known as the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Act, and directed that the identification number system be digitalised so that it could be used for both public and private exchanges.

According to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), approximately 20 million subscriber identity module (SIM) cards have been verified with the country’s major telecommunication operators as of mid-January. According to DICT Spokesperson Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, 20,551,294 or 12.16% of the country’s 168,977,773 active mobile users have been registered since the SIM card registration law went into effect on December 27, 2022.

“SIM Registration is being implemented alongside the Data Privacy Act. Data encryption is required. PTEs (public telecommunications enterprises) are required by law to ensure that end-user data is secure, encrypted, and protected at all times,” she explained.

Following its simultaneous compliance check on-site visits, the National Protection Commission (NPC) ordered the three PTEs to fix several data privacy “gaps” in their SIM registration. However, Naga stated that the three telcos have typically shown the capability in preserved the clients’ data. He does, however, advise telcos to upgrade and tighten their security procedures as information and communications technology improves.

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