TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara admitted there are two unfinished homework ahead of the end of his office term, namely informatics and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and development of the digital ecosystem.

“The first is the lagging construction of infrastructure,” said Rudiantara in his office, Jakarta, Tuesday, October 1.

According to Rudiantara, the country’s ICT index in ASEAN is still below several neighboring countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and even Brunei Darussalam. “In terms of the index, Brunei ranks higher because the country is small, so it is easier for them to develop.”

Additionally, Indonesia earmarked a lower budget for the ICT infrastructure at 0.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), compared to Thailand and Malaysia at 0.3 percent of its GDP.

Mathematically calculated, the minister went on, the Malaysian government disbursed 18 to 20 times higher funds for the ICT infrastructure than Indonesia. “So we are lagging.”

Rudiantara mentioned several ICT infrastructures that had been constructed in the government of President Jokowi for the last five years include Palapa Ring and multifunctional satellite, which requires further development in the President’s second period.

The second homework is to build an ecosystem for digital economy development, such as by simplifying the licensing. "So startup will not need permission, everything will be made easy," he remarked.

Rudiantara reasoned this because the success rate of startups to develop is still low at around 5 percent. Therefore, if the licensing is complicated, it will affect the firm’s performance.

CAESAR AKBAR