E-government: RI needs new approach and focus

E-government: RI needs new approach and focus

Fabio Scarpello, Contributor, Jakarta

The need for more governmental transparency and more direct
participation by citizens in the democratic process, in addition
to the shift from a centralized system to a more decentralized
system here, calls for changes here.

E-government, which refers to the application of Information
Communication Technology (ICT) in public administration, is
clearly seen as the way forward.

Its advantages were once more highlighted in the workshop co-
organized by the state minister for research and technology, the
state minister for communications and information and the Italian
Embassy and took place on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 in Jakarta.

The participants made many promises, the ones that seem
tailored to Indonesia's needs are the potential to strengthen
democracy, reduce poverty and to make governments more responsive
to the needs of its citizens.

However after the chit-chat, the good lunches and the hand
shakes, what is clear is Indonesia is interested in the project,
but what is debatable is the focus and approach to it.

It is not a novelty that the lack of ICT infrastructure and
funds are the reasons that limit a wider implementation of e-
government in Indonesia. Since the 1998 crisis money is tight,
Indonesia is very big and high tech equipment is expensive.

In this respect, while the high speed fiber optic cable laid
in Sumatra by Italian firm Pirelli - as a first step in a project
by Telkom to link the islands of Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan -
is a long term investment, the overall situation has not changed
much and some questions remain unanswered. For example what has
happened to the US$34.5 million funds given by the World Bank in
November 1997 to Indonesia for its Information Infrastructure
Development Program (IIDP)?

The project, closed in June 2003, failed to make a real
difference by connecting people, with the greatest part of it
used to pay international consultants and rubber stamp legal
documents. By all means all useful and maybe necessary steps but,
six years later and US$34.5 million lighter, in Indonesia there
are still only about 4 million internet users, of which only
600,000 are subscribers while the rest rely on warnet. Of these,
85 percent are in Jakarta and Surabaya, with only 15 percent in
the rest of the country. Telephone landlines are also still very
poor with about 7.5 million fixed telephone lines installed.

However, what emerged from the workshop is that, if the
government approach and focus are adjusted, then the lack of
infrastructure may be overcome.

At present, the approach is to put the infrastructure in place
and then to offer services where there is a demand for it.
However, even if cables remain the preferred option, new (cheap)
technology has come to the rescue of countries such as Indonesia
and the only thing needed is to embrace it and use it on a wider
scale to offer services to all citizens regardless of the demand.

Outside the circle of techies not many have heard of WiFi. To
explain what it is in lay terms, there are few people more
qualified than Ciro Maddaloni, Chief Technical Officer at the
Italian Ministry for Innovation and Technology E-government Unit.

"WiFi - short for wireless fidelity - is the popular term for
high frequency wireless local area network, and it is one of the
newest ways to connect to the Internet and surely the cheapest.
All that is required is a simple aluminum antenna and a wireless
network card".

WiFi does not need expensive infrastructure to be put in
place, and the services it provides are more than enough for most
people.

"The initial kit, excluding the PC, costs about US$80. Also,
it does not need a powerful computer to operate, so a basic
second-hand PC will do the job. WiFi uses free radio bandwidth,
and after the initial cost the only thing left to pay for is the
connection" Maddaloni says.

Furthermore, the connection costs can be shared among a
network of users without interfering with the speed and quality
of the service. Free operational systems, like Linux, can be used
and by connecting a headphone and a microphone, WiFi can replace
the telephone.

Maddaloni explains: "Yes a Voice over IP (VoIP) could be
added. This is a system that translates voice into a digital
format, sends it and then retranslates the digital format into
voice. This overcomes the problem of the lack of land lines and
provides people with a real service, at a very cheap cost"

In truth what Maddaloni is suggesting, is nothing new in
Indonesia. Dr Onno Purbo has already pioneered both the use of
WiFi and established a PC-to-PC communication system, called
Voice of Freedom. Dr Purbo, who is one of Indonesia's ICT
experts, believes that connecting to the Internet using WiFi
could be the best way to narrow Indonesia's digital divide and
bolster economic development.

The private sector has already embraced the new technology and
has started to explore its potential with several "hotspots" set
up in Jakarta's main hotels and shopping malls. Nonetheless,
these are only beneficial to a small privileged minority and when
talking of ICT in reference to e-government we have to look at it
as a means to provide "essential services" to the population at
large.

In this respect, what is hoped is for the government - at
central and local levels - to take the initiative with a
concerted approach and to use WiFi to reach out to people
throughout the archipelago.

At the moment, the e-government focus in Indonesia is on
informative websites and e-procurement. These are indeed
important services, but how relevant would these be to a
fisherman in Kalimantan? Conversely if services such as e-
education and e-health are offered, then a real difference in
citizens' lives could be made. Technology void of useful
applications is pointless. If e-government applications fail to
make a difference there will never be either an economic
advantage nor a popular consensus for it.

It is a government responsibility and duty to offer education
and health - among other services - without waiting to be asked
for it. At present, not many people in remote areas of the
country would know of the possibility to have a lesson for their
children delivered via computer, or to have a doctor's opinion in
digital format. If the service is provided, then the demand for
it will increase together with the awareness of the population
and the cultural level of the country as a whole. Consider the
case of cellular phones for a moment: a few years ago they were
almost unheard of in Indonesia, but since the supply has been
available people have started demanding it and now many parts of
Indonesia have gone cell phone crazy (in a good way). Of course
in regard to ICT as things stand in Indonesia, intermediaries are
needed to work as a link between ICT and citizens. How to entice
people in remote areas is a problem the government needs to solve
soon.

Furthermore, to present to the international stage a project
that involves e-education and e-health would make a much more
positive impact than timetables and e-shopping. Undoubtedly, the
possibility to have financial and technical help would improve.

Indonesia is looking around to get e-tips. Malaysia, South
Korea and now Italy have all been in on the talks. But to make
these meetings and workshops worthwhile, the governments needs to
take "real" examples and act on it.

In Pantelleria, a tiny island at the southernmost tip of
Italy, lectures are often given at the local school via video
link, using a local intermediary with basic ICT skills. To send a
lecturer would have been too expensive but local citizens have
the same right to be educated like their brothers and sisters in
Milan or Rome or Udine. The Pantellerian people did not ask for
the service; most of them did not even know of the potential for
it. Likewise, in Indonesia it is crucial that citizens in Papua,
Sulawesi and Kalimantan have access to e-services, just like
those in Jakarta, regardless of whether they demand it or not.

Indonesia is in a position to learn from other countries' e-
government experience and leapfrog the technological divide. WiFi
(and even more modern technology) could help to overcome the cost
and infrastructure barrier. However, in order for e-government to
be true to its promises and help the country to grow, real issues
of all citizens have to be addressed.