TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, launched the Government Technology or GovTech initiative, dubbed INA Digital, during the Electronic-Based Governmental System (SPBE) Summit 2024 at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday, May 27.

In his remarks, Jokowi emphasized the importance of integrating diverse government digital applications and services into a singular portal to enhance service quality for the community.

“In order to bolster Indonesia's competitiveness, we must strengthen the Digital Public Infrastructure, akin to a 'toll road' for the digitization of public services. We also need to reinforce the GovTech transformation, which we call INA Digital,” he said as quoted from the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry’s website.

What is GovTech?

In simple terms, GovTech is an entity charged with consolidating government digital services, which are currently dispersed across myriad platforms and applications. According to Abdullah Azwar Anas, head of the SPBE coordination team, GovTech is not a new application or platform, but rather a provider of service integration.

Its objective is to address the problem posed by thousands of applications across various government agencies that struggle to interoperate. Presently, there are approximately 27,000 applications in the government sector that need integration.

“The GovTech that the President will launch tomorrow (May 27) is not an application or a platform, but an organizer of service integration because government agencies have their own services, forcing people to download numerous apps,” Anas remarked during the press conference of the SPBE Summit 2024 in Jakarta on Sunday, May 26.

Service Acceleration

President Jokowi said that INA Digital marks the initial phase in expediting the digital service transformation for the Indonesian government, encompassing education, healthcare, business permits, taxation, and more. "But that's okay, I think the migration must be gradual, but what’s crucial is that we have started it. We are preparing the state apparatus (ASN), including in the digital sector,” he explained.

He further stressed the necessity for all ministries, institutions, and local governments to collaborate in integrating and interoperating applications and data. “Otherwise, we won’t see any progress. Let’s leave the old practices and mindsets behind,” the state head underlined.

Priority Service

Abdullah Azwar Anas, Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, disclosed that the integration of government digital services will be accelerated following the launch of INA Digital. Several priority services will be merged into one public service portal, which will be launched in September 2024.

These priority services include the education sector, healthcare, social assistance, digital payments, digital identity, online driver's licenses, crowd permits, and state apparatus services. “As per the President's (Jokowi) directive, the process should no longer be complicated, even if it uses technology. Therefore, the interoperability of services, which requires the exchange of data, is crucial. INA Digital is tasked with integrating these services,” Anas concluded.

PUTRI SAFIRA PITALOKA

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