Yogya dreams of becoming cyber city

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

In an attempt to accelerate the development of Yogyakarta into a cyber province, Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said on Tuesday he would soon draft a gubernatorial decree on electronic information and transactions.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a seminar titled Jogja Towards Cybercity: Opportunities and Challenges, the governor said he had asked Yogyakarta-based multimedia expert Roy Suryo to prepare the draft decree, which was almost ready to be issued.

"For me, the sooner Yogyakarta has the regulation, the better. It is fortunate because Pak Suryo also happens to be a member of the drafting team of the bill on electronic information and transactions that is to be deliberated by the House of Representatives," the sultan said.

Yogyakarta has just secured a US$ 20 million investment from Exelcom, a cellular telecommunications provider, in the form of a fiber optic network.

However, the governor said there was not yet any regulation on the use of cyber technology. "Nationwise, the bill is still at the preparation stage, also."

"Now, as the province has decided to become a cyber province, it would be better to have the regulation, although it is just a gubernatorial decree. Otherwise, (cyber businesses) will just kill each other due to the lack of clear regulation, he said.

Meanwhile, Roy Suryo said the decree would basically regulate and provide protection for business transactions using electronic communication, including e-mails and text messages.

In the long run, it would give electronic transactions a legal basis so that if a dispute arose, such transactions could be admitted as evidence in a court of law, Roy explained.

Roy also considered that the issuance of a gubernatorial decree on electronic information and transactions was urgent for the province, especially given the fact that Yogyakarta is recorded as the province with the highest number of cyber crimes in the country.

Of the 159 cyber crime cases reported in 2002, 63 of them were reported in Yogyakarta. Internationally too, Indonesia is recorded as the country with the second highest number of cyber crimes after the Ukraine, Roy said.

Such crimes have been committed, according to Roy, mostly due to the lack of clear regulations regarding the matter.

The fact that the results of the recent Gadjah Mada University entrance examination could be accessed via text messages and websites was further proof that clear regulations on electronic information and transactions were an urgent need for the province, he said.

"And once the decree is issued, Yogyakarta will be the country's first province to have such a regulation," Roy said.