What is meant by e-government?<\/p>\n
To create a more efficient public service, some local
\nadministrations have been experimenting with e-government and the
\nresults are encouraging, while more regions have shown strong
\ninterest in the hightech system. The Jakarta Post's computer
\ncolumnist Zatni Arbi looks at the hurdles and prospects.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When Arif, a copywriter, was handed a project
\nfor writing the annual report of a public company, the first
\nthing he needed to find out was all the requirements of Bapepam,
\nthe Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Agency. The agency
\nspecifies all the points and items that every annual report
\nshould contain. Thanks to e-government, Arif did not have to
\nleave his small and comfortable office in the Lebak Bulus area,
\nSouth Jakarta, to find out what the specific requirements were.<\/p>\n
All he needed to do was go to the website of Bapepam
\n(www.bapepam.go.id), click on 'Regulations' and there he found
\nall the information that he needed. There he learned that, in
\naddition to all the information and data about the company's
\nbusiness performance throughout the year, the annual report must
\nalso contain additional information such as participation in
\ncommunity development, efforts in the preservation of the
\nenvironment and programs for human resources development.<\/p>\n
"Thanks to e-government, I was able to save so much time and
\nhassle," said Arif. "In this digital era, information such as
\nthis should be truly available at your fingertips," he added.<\/p>\n
Now, just imagine how much more time and money would be saved
\nif Arif happened to live in another city such as Surabaya. That
\nis the power of e-government, which is supposed to make the life
\nof the common people easier, more productive and less costly.<\/p>\n
Just what is it that we mean by e-government? "In its first
\nstage, an e-government initiative is aimed at improving public
\nservices through the web," explained Setyo Budi Agung, Project
\nManager, e-Government Projects at RisTI, the IT research arm of
\nPT Telkom.<\/p>\n
At the more advanced stages, e-government will go far beyond
\nproviding public services and information. It should allow two-
\nway communications between the administration and the people,
\nknowledge management, support for e-commerce and even the so-
\ncalled "clicked democracy". Even electronic general elections for
\nappointing government officials should not be excluded as a
\nfuture possibility.<\/p>\n
At the moment, most of our central government's agencies are
\nstill in the very early stages when it comes to online public
\nservices. What they provide on their websites, as in the case of
\nBapepam, is still basic information. In many of our government
\nwebsites, you can get some statistical figures, press releases,
\nrules and regulations, transcripts of speeches, and, in some
\ncases, the forms that you will have to print out, fill in offline
\nbut, unfortunately, submit in person.<\/p>\n
Limited information<\/p>\n
Even the information that is provided is still very limited
\nwhen we compare it with what is available in other countries,
\nsince one of the greatest problems faced by our institutions is
\nthe human resources that create the contents. We may have a lot
\nof people who can design and program attractive and efficient web
\npages, but we lack people who can write the information clearly
\nand succinctly -- the way information should always be presented
\non the web.<\/p>\n
The problem is even larger when the information needs to be
\nprovided in English as well for foreigners -- including
\nprospective investors -- to read. Translating the contents into
\nEnglish is a process that takes a lot of time, and most of the
\ntime it requires more than just a few overworked in-house
\ntranslators to complete.<\/p>\n
That is why, for example, you can find the Indonesian version
\nof Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 3\/5\/PBI\/2001 dated March 22,
\n2001, on BI's Web site (www.bi.go.id), while the latest
\nregulation in their English section is Bank Indonesia Regulation
\nNo. 3\/3\/PBI\/2001, dated Jan. 12, 2001.<\/p>\n
As this article was written, the Indonesian section of BI's
\nwebsite already contained its year 2,000 Annual Report, but the
\nsame document was not yet available in English. Ideally, of
\ncourse, every piece of content should become available in both
\nlanguages at more or less the same time.<\/p>\n
Another example of the step toward e-government in Indonesia,
\nalbeit still limited to providing information on the Internet, is
\nthe website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
\n(www.dprin.go.id). In addition to statistics on our inflation
\nfigures for February 2001, visitors to this site can also read
\nregulations, circulars, procedures for requesting a certificate
\nof standard compliance, and others.<\/p>\n
Likewise, no real online service are available. You still have
\nto physically go to the office to obtain a license, for example,
\nand that is still a far cry from the promise of e-government.<\/p>\n
Still, we should not feel so desperate and hopeless and think
\nthat e-government in Indonesia will remain a distant dream.<\/p>\n
In fact, the first Indonesian e-government project in the
\nregion started in the Regency of Takalar, South Sulawesi. The
\nwebsite, www.takalar.go.id, has been up and running since April
\nlast year. It still does not provide the real services that will
\nchange the way people deal with regulations, but it is already a
\ngood beginning.<\/p>\n
The second e-government project was launched in the Regency of
\nKutai Timur, East Kalimantan. You can read information on the
\nregency, its main tourist attractions and local investment
\npolicies at www.kutaitimur.go.id, which has been available since
\nAugust last year.<\/p>\n
The Bandung-based RisTI has been the driving force behind
\nthese pilot projects. According to Setyo, a number of other
\nregencies and mayoralties including Sukabumi, Bekasi Ciamis and
\nMajalengka -- all in West Java, are going to start similar
\nprojects this year.<\/p>\n
Others, such as Lamongan, Malang, Temanggung, Medan, Aceh,
\nRiau and Padang, have shown serious interest.<\/p>\n
Local initiatives<\/p>\n
What was interesting in the case of the two pioneering
\nregencies was that the initiative came from the local government.<\/p>\n
"All the expenses were also paid for by the local
\nadministrations," explained Setyanto Hantoro, Project Manager of
\nthe Virtual Laboratory, RisTI, Bandung.<\/p>\n
Setyanto was also involved in the setting up of the e-
\ngovernment projects in these two locations. "In the case of the
\nfirst project, PT Microsoft Indonesia and PT Compaq Indonesia
\nalso made their contribution by providing the needed software and
\nhardware at special prices," Setyanto added.<\/p>\n
Our question then was whether the infrastructure was ready or
\nnot.<\/p>\n
"The services were made accessible to the local government's
\nintegrated service units, and therefore did not rely very heavily
\nupon the telephone networks. However, even when the telephone
\nlines were used, we found that the services -- in this case,
\nprovision of information -- were still accessible through what
\nthey had locally," Setyanto said.<\/p>\n
As we move towards satellite-based internet infrastructure, we
\nshould be able to free ourselves from the limitations of our
\nexisting public telephone network.<\/p>\n
Beyond providing more transparent regulations and information
\non local potential, how can the real e-government services
\nfacilitate us in dealing with the government?<\/p>\n
"In the future, people could extend their Kartu Tanda Penduduk
\n(ID Card) just by using their computer at home. No longer would
\nthey have to request a letter of recommendation from their
\nneighborhood chief, which currently also requires the signatures
\nof two other officials before they can go to the office of the
\nDistrict Chief.<\/p>\n
Similarly, those who need to apply for or extend their driving
\nlicense should eventually be able to do it online. "Members of
\nthe public should also be able to pay for their utility bills
\nthrough the payment facilities that will become available at the
\ne-government sites," said Setyo. They should also be able to pay
\ntheir taxes -- vehicle taxes, property taxes, etc. -- through the
\ne-government facilities.<\/p>\n
What about strengthening linkages at a community level?<\/p>\n
"Certainly. Announcements about local festivals, music
\nconcerts, community activities, etc. can be spread easily through
\nthe web," Setyo added.<\/p>\n
More importantly, perhaps, is the facility that is provided
\nfor people who want to submit their suggestions or even file
\ncomplaints to the local authority.<\/p>\n
"If the street light in your neighborhood does not light up at
\nnight, you should be able to 'visit' the appropriate local e-
\ngovernment site and report it to the appropriate official so that
\nit gets fixed," explained Setyo further.<\/p>\n
And, what about the general reception from the local
\ncommunity? "At first people had a lot of doubt about the use of
\nIT for public services in small regencies such as the Takalar and
\nKutai Timur Regencies. This hesitancy was immediately eliminated
\nby the successful operation of the facilities in both regencies.
\nWe were very excited to see the leadership of both Regents and
\ntheir determination in fighting for the budget approvals from the
\ncouncils as well as in changing their work culture from the
\nmanual and traditional way to the new IT-based culture," Setyo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Setyanto, from the day the facility in the
\nTakalar Regency was first operated to the end of 2000 no less
\nthan 6,668 transactions were completed, while during the first
\ntwo months of this year the system handled 1,388 transactions.
\nMost of these transactions were applications for new ID cards,
\nmarriage and birth certificates.<\/p>\n
In the Kutai Timur Regency, up to February 2001 as many as
\n1,199 transactions were handled, which even included requests for
\nlicenses for outdoor advertisements.<\/p>\n
"This implementation was just a small part of a much larger
\ntrend toward e-government that is aimed at ensuring good
\ngovernance in the government sector," said Setyanto.<\/p>\n
"One of the most important factors that determines the success
\nof the implementation of e-government is leadership," he added.
\nAnd, as the examples in the two regencies showed, the leaders
\nwere indeed the key success factor.<\/p>",
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