Technology Must Support Civil Servants, Not Replace Their Responsibilities, Minister Says

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Rini Widyantini said the success of digital transformation depended on the government’s ability to integrate services, change bureaucratic working practices and use technology to improve the quality of public services.

The government, she said, was not building a bureaucracy that handed its responsibilities over to machines. Instead, technology should help civil servants (ASN) work to a higher standard, carry out their duties more effectively and provide better services to the public.

“We are not building a bureaucracy that hands its responsibilities over to machines. Technology should instead help civil servants work to a higher standard, so they can provide better services to the public,” Rini said at the Peruri Digital Summit 2026, according to a statement on Wednesday (21 October 2026).

Alongside strengthening civil servants’ skills, digital transformation also depended on integrating data and services across agencies, cybersecurity, privacy protection and trustworthy technology governance. Collaboration among the government, PERURI, businesses, academics and technology partners therefore needed to be strengthened to build a national digital-government ecosystem.

Rini said the success of digital transformation should not be measured solely by technological sophistication or digitalisation index results. The main measure was the benefits felt by the public, including easier access to services, a reduced administrative burden, improved public-service quality and greater trust in government.

“Ultimately, digital transformation is not just about how advanced the technology we have is, but about how much positive change we can bring to the public,” she said.

Through the Peruri Digital Summit 2026, Rini said she hoped to strengthen cooperation among the government, businesses, academics and technology partners to create digital government that was integrated, secure, adaptive and trustworthy.

“The question is no longer simply how to become digital, but how to remain relevant and adapt when technological developments move faster than the policy cycle,” she concluded.