RI in need of affordable computers

RI in need of affordable computers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The newly formed National Association of Secondhand Computer
Traders Association (Apkomlapan) is calling for the Ministry of
Trade to lift its restriction on importing secondhand computers
implemented in October.

"By importing secondhand computers and reconditioning them
before selling them, we can sell our goods from between Rp
500,000 (US$54) to Rp 1.5 million," association secretary
Ramdansyah said on Thursday.

The cheapest brand-new personal computers on the market range
from between Rp 2.5 million to Rp 3.5 million.

The association said the use of computers in Indonesia was not
yet significant according to data from the International
Telecommunications Union. The data shows that Indonesia's
computer ownership ratio is only about one person in every
hundred -- or about 22 million people nationally -- the same
ratio as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and
Vietnam.

The daily trade of second-hand computers in Jakarta today
amounted to between Rp 20 million and Rp 100 million worth of
turnover a store, Ramdansyah said. More than 95 percent of the
traded computers were imported, while the rest came from office
auctions.

"Banning us from importing used computers would mean a loss of
jobs in the industry." Each store, he said, employed at least two
people.

There was also a high demand for affordable computers from
educational institutions and community groups, he said.

The government has for some time been grappling with the issue
of whether to allow the importation of used computers.
Environmentalists worry that unrestricted imports would lead to
environmentally toxic computer waste -- parts that cannot be
recycled -- piling up in the nation's dumps.

Other officials, meanwhile, worry that the cheap imports are
stopping the development of any local computer industry.

There have been efforts before to make computers more
affordable by companies such as the former state computer-maker
PC Republik Indonesia (PCRI) which developed a prototype of
national computer at an affordable price. However, that company
had gone out of business.

Another program to provide cheaper computers to small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) was begun by Intel, the producer of
world's most-widely used micro-chip processor, and Adira Finance
last year; the "Aku Punya PC" (I have PC) scheme.

That program offered new computers to SMEs from between Rp 3.1
million and Rp 4.8 million.

Indonesian Information and Telecommunications Society
chairman Giri Suseno said importing used computers did not seem
the best way to bridge the technology gap.

"The best and most sustainable way would be to domestically
develop affordable computers ourselves."

This solution would also create more jobs, Giri said. (003)