ITB Virtual Seminar Reveals 5 Focuses of Accelerating Digital Transformation in Indonesia

By Adi Permana

Editor Vera Citra Utami

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – The commemoration of the 101st PTTI with a grand theme "ITB for Indonesia Digital Transformation" opened with a webinar on Thursday (1/7/2021). The webinar presented Dr. Muhammad Hudori, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as one of its keynote speakers.

Dr. Hudori delivers his speech on the development of digital transformation in Indonesia from the government's point of view. According to him, the challenges in this era of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution cannot be undermined, as more and more aspects of life will correlate with the internet and network.

Dr. Hudori adds that there are six urgencies of digital transformation that need to be taken care of seriously. Innovation is the main point in inducing changes. Followed by the acceleration that is marked by the achievement of national priority targets. This transformation also promotes the inclusiveness aspect. The next three points are efficiency, accountability, and collaboration.

"Transformation can change something very basic to follow the development that occurs," said Dr. Hudori.
Indonesia has five main focuses to accelerate the transformation digital in 25years to fulfill Indonesia Emas 2045. The focusses are:
1. fundamental strategy on regulations and policies,
2. developing the human capital,
3. building infrastructure and mastering technology,
4. speed up initiatives with funding and incentives,
5. promoting digital ecosystem

The policies from the Ministry of Internal Affairs takes a lot of consideration on the implementation of information and communication technology in government for public services that are capable of reaching village level. This is regulated by Government Regulation No. 38 Year 2017 on Regional Innovation. As an initial step to support this transformation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to implement e-voting on the regional and general elections.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has a Regional Government Information System (SIPD) that provides information and data of a province such as development data, financial data, and other governmental information that can be accessed on sipd.kemendagri.go.id.

Dr. Hudori adds that currently, Indonesia is experiencing an era of service automatization. The coverage of digital-based networks has reached 179 million citizens or an increase of 67% from the projected population of 2019.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also implemented a smart city system in the form of all-digital services. The Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to connect all citizens to have an internet connection so that they can acquire easier services.

Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs seeks to synchronize the integration of smart city development with related ministries or institutions. The distribution of governmental affairs on smart city development is smart economy, smart people, smart government, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart living.

It is easy to understand that the implementation of a smart city will encounter some limitations such as limited fiscal capability or government budget, limitations at policy-making level by the legislation, and the limitation of the synchronization of the strategic supporting infrastructure. To address this issue a complete review of the smart city platform that includes all the regulations, mechanisms, and financial allocation is needed.

Reporter: Lukman Ali (Mechanical Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla (Civil Engineering, 2019)