Jakarta. E-government, which refers to the use of internet technology when delivering public services to citizens, plays a major role in Indonesia’s digital journey.

Indonesia wants to tap into the technology for more efficient public services. Hasto Prastowo, the director for the sub-national government cybersecurity at the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), said that e-government had become a must in today’s era.

“Everything has gone digital now,” Hasto said on a recent BTV talk show. 

“A good e-government is one in which we [the government] can ensure the security and address any disruption to the public services. We will try our best to make sure that everything runs well for an effective, safe, and efficient public service,” Hasto said.

Indonesia has way too many government apps, even reaching approximately 27,400 apps. The archipelagic country is also home to 2,700 government data centers and servers. This only leads to inefficiency. Against this backdrop, Indonesia is pursuing the e-government strategy, which also sees simplification of such apps. Indonesia is currently building a national data center in Cikarang. Similar facilities are expected to be built in Batam and the future capital Nusantara.

“Cross-sectoral cooperation and continuous evaluation is important to drive progress in e-government,” Hasto said.

Andi Yudiantoro, the chief executive officer of Inixindo Jogja, said that it was about time for Indonesia to embrace e-government. According to Andi, e-government could enable seamless public services that citizens could access at all times and anywhere. E-government can also help tackle corruption as it can lead to more transparent and accountable decision-making. Last but not least, e-government can open the doors for more valid data. 

“We are still lacking in terms of valid government data. Electronic data must come from electronic apps. Today, the data are produced by entry and some are even paper-based,” Andi told the same talk show.

“We [Indonesia] are trying to build an effective, efficient, transparent, and accountable government. In other words, the government should deliver public services that are easily accessible by the people,” Andi said.