TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Indonesia would soon launch its homegrown IT hardware, namely the Merah Putih laptops and tablets.

The IT hardware production would be carried out by a consortium of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry together with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), and the Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

Luhut explained this effort aimed at increasing the use of local ICT products, especially in the field of education.

“We really encourage government spending on domestic products. We are not allowed to keep importing them while in fact we are able to produce them. People who are still ‘playing’ in this sector must be eliminated,” said Luhut in the YouTube broadcast of the Coordinating Ministry on Thursday, July 22.

He acknowledged that the government spending on domestic products for the education sector, especially the IT hardware, was still very low compared to the value of imports. Thus, the government set a target for local ICT procurement for the education sector up to Rp17 trillion until 2024.

Six domestic manufacturers have claimed to be able to meet the needs of the Merah Putih laptops. They are PT Zyrexindo Mandiri Buana, PT Tera Data Indonesia, PT Supertone, PT Evercross Technology Indonesia, PT Bangga Teknologi Indonesia, and Acer Manufacturing Indonesia.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA