Minister Anas, President discuss digital transformation acceleration

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas held a meeting with President Joko Widodo to report progress in the acceleration of digital transformation that his ministry is pursuing along with other relevant institutions.

The meeting took place at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

“We reported to the president regarding the electronic-based government system (SPBE) because 20 countries with the best SPBE in the world have GovTech or government technology. This is what we are developing,” Anas noted in a statement from the PANRB Ministry received on Wednesday.

The minister highlighted the president’s focus on three essential keys: digital identity, data exchange, and digital payment.

Currently, the PANRB Ministry and relevant stakeholders have created a draft presidential regulation regarding GovTech that awaits approval from the president.

GovTech can fulfill the president’s wishes regarding digital transformation that will lead to improved public services.

The draft Presidential Regulation on Digital Transformation Acceleration was developed to realize two keys to acceleration and sustainability, namely focusing on a priority system and establishing a GovTech team for sustainability going forward.

The establishment of GovTech to handle priority platforms is the best practice carried out by the top 20 countries in the 2022 UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI).

“The proposed draft Presidential Regulation on Digital Transformation Acceleration will be an important foundation for improving government services and accelerating national development,” Anas remarked.

For the short term in 2024, the policy will become proof of the implementation of GovTech in the current government to be the next government’s foothold.

In the medium term, it is aimed at increasing Indonesia’s EGDI, while in the long term, digitalization is aimed at building an efficient and effective bureaucracy, maximizing human resources’ development, and driving economic growth.

At Tuesday’s meeting, President Jokowi also conveyed several directions, including regarding the implementation of the Digital Population Identity (IKD), which is carried out by the Ministry of Home Affairs, to be accelerated.

“Later, Indonesian citizens will not have to have a printed ID card; only (need to have) IKD,” Anas remarked.

The president also asked the government to integrate their services in one applications to be of better service and not in separate applications like the way it is now.

“Currently, there are more than 27 thousand (government) applications, which makes it a bit complicated for people to get fast services,” he remarked.

The PANRB Ministry is also encouraging regional governments to establish Digital Public Service Malls (MMPs) that facilitate residents to access government services through one application anywhere. 

By TTU/ANTARA