The changing world of PT Pos Indonesia

While Indonesia has given birth to various companies, PT Pos Indonesia has helped create Indonesia.

It has been transforming itself through history to play a significant role in the nation's survival. PT Pos' embryonic stage was a Dutch colonial organ called Post en Telegraafdienst, which delivered mail and radiograms and had a telegraph service for the colonial administration.

Only in 1906 did it incorporate telephone service and was renamed Post, Telegraaf en Telefoondienst.

During the Japanese occupation, the institution was a propaganda tool for the Japanese military invasion. The Japanese recruited young employees of the communications office to become civilian guards, called tsusin tai, to fight the allied forces.

But it was the tsusin tai that later turned on them and took back the central communications office, headquartered in Bandung, on Sept. 27, 1945, one month after Indonesia proclaimed independence.

The service's name was then changed to Bahasa Indonesia -- Pos Telegrap dan Telepon (PTT) -- and kept the name until 1961, when it was renamed Pos dan Telekomunikasi.

PTT played a vital role in liberating Irian Jaya from the Dutch in 1962. It sent at least 5,000 volunteers to build a communications network and installations. This initiative was a key to the success of the military campaign on the island.

Such a significant involvement of PTT in the nation's struggle for independence enabled the office to easily reach various parts of the country. Its availability and reliability in remote places in Indonesia was a result of its historic role.

"So, PTT was a tool used in the nation's struggle in the first place," said Adang Supriatna.

"And it remains to be so today."

Until 1962, PTT was a jawatan (a service for state telecommunications, telegraph and post).

On Jan. 1, 1961, then president Soekarno launched the first stage of the Pembangunan Nasional Semesta (National Overall Development Plan) with a budget allocation amounting to Rp 240 billion (US$192 million). Thirty-five percent of the funds went to PTT's projects.

The big allocation reflected how the government saw the telecommunications sector, which gave a special advantage to PTT.

During this period, PTT expanded to a wider scale of telecommunications-related businesses, improved infrastructure and equipment, and built more branch offices throughout the country.

On Jan. 4, 1961, the company set up the Jaring telex Indonesia (Indonesia telex net) in Jakarta with a capacity of 480 numbers, and a length of 16,400 km, connecting 16 cities.

Within five years, the telex net expanded to 23 cities and improved its capacity to 1,000 numbers. Meanwhile, new telephone centrals, terminals and radio stations were opened.

As part of its restructuring scheme on state corporations by the New Order government, PTT changed into Perusahaan Negara Pos dan Giro (Post and Giro state cooperation) in 1967. This resulted from business expansion.

The telecommunications business was taken out and allowed to operate separately. This was due to a rapid development in the telecommunications world, which was needing a particular institution and attention.

But afterward, the PN Pos dan Giro could focus on its core business and carried on as a professional post service company.

In 1978, it officially became a perum (a local company).

Indonesia stepped into satellite communications in 1975 when it launched its first communications satellite Palapa.

The satellite innovation has enabled Indonesians to enjoy wider access to communication. In the postal sector, Perum Pos dan Giro (PPG) introduced electronic mail for the first time.

In another development, PPG's access to the international world resulted in opportunities for improving its human resources. After being admitted to the Asian Oceanic Postal Union (AOPU) in 1970, more and more employees of PPG were sent abroad to pursue postal studies, which were usually organized by a cooperation between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

At home, numerous in-house training workshops and courses on postal affairs resulted in the increasing number of younger skilled workers for managerial levels. The corporation also runs some postal colleges.

In 1995, Perum Pos Giro was changed into a state-owned company and is now officially called PT Pos Indonesia.

While focusing on its core business -- postal and postal money transfer (giro pos) -- it made various adjustments to the newest developments and innovations in the communications technology.

For its part, new innovations and inventions in the communications technology have made significant changes to postal work, to which it inevitably made some adjustments.

The use of the Internet, which has been on the rise during the last decade, has caused a drop in the quantity of posted mail. But according to the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the decline is only of mail from individuals.

"Mail from companies and organizations, in the form of letters, business documents and direct mailing, is actually increasing," said Alinaflah, the director of PT Pos Indonesia, in reference to the UPU report.

"So in fact, the flow of mail has been increasing," he added.

But to show the company's commitment in adopting the communications technology, it set up its own Internet provider -- Wasantara -- which is available in all branch offices of PT Pos.

PT Pos is virtually embarking on a cybernet path. It is providing various Internet-related services.

It serves the business community with direct marketing facilities, such as business mail service, stamp vending machines and electronic orders.

Direct marketing offers a lucrative business opportunity for companies. The purchasing transaction through direct marketing in the world is now valued at $227 billion, while the potential is seen at $531 billion.

Its selling value, meanwhile, stands at $1.77 billion, while the potential is said to be at $4.15 billion. Direct marketing is expected to become more popular in Indonesia due to its comparative advantages in targeting, measurability, cost effectiveness and flexibility.

Above all, however, the company is compelled to leave behind the old definition of post.

"In the past, post was referred to the flow of news, funds and goods. Now it should be redefined as a business communications service, financial and agencies business as well as a logistics business," Alinafiah said.

With this new definition, PT Pos Indonesia is committed to giving more flexible, timely and reliable services in line with consumer demand, especially when conventional post services are out-rivaled by email, telephone and online transaction services.

Now, amid the prolonged multifaceted and multidimensional crises, not only has PT Pos Indonesia been able to survive, it has gained some international recognition for its performance and reliable services.

Recently, it was granted the ISO 9002 for its Electronic Mail Service and Express Mail Service, and was awarded the World Bank President's Award for Excellence (WBPAE).

As its executives put it, PT Pos Indonesia is an institution of a postal service provider with competitive global power. It is committed to running the corporation on business principles supported by efficient technology and qualified human resources.

With some 27,000 employees in 4,700 offices throughout the country, it is determined to dedicate itself to the nation and help maintain national integrity as well as to strengthen the national relationship.