Experts Meeting: Drafting Presidential Decree on Smart City

Currently, the Indonesian government is intensively preparing the realization of Smart City in cities in Indonesia. The implementation of Smart City is considered very necessary given the opportunities offered by the advancement of digital technology to cope with urban problems such as traffic congestion, environmental problems, and increasingly complex public service issues. Therefore, on August 5, 2017, various ministries and relevant stakeholders gathered and discussed in the “Experts Meeting: Draft Presidential Decree on the Smart City” at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol), Universitas Gadjah Mada. The meeting was facilitated by the Center for Digital Society (CfDS) UGM and was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemdagri), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemkominfo), and the Ministry of State Secretariat (Kemsetneg), Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemen-PAN RB). The meeting was also attended by Fisipol’s Dean, Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, Head of Communication and Informatics Office of DI Yogyakarta, Head of Bappeda DIY, and Microsoft Indonesia’s Director of Corporate Affairs.

This meeting discussed the roadmap to regulate the implementation of Smart City and Electronic Based Government System (SPBE, or e-government) to support the creation of a better democratic culture. With SPBE, it is expected that the administration process, data documentation, and the implementation of public services will be more transparent and efficient. The realization of SPBE requires internal cooperation between government agencies; ranging from the preparation of regulations and training. In addition, the participation of the public and coordination between the stakeholders, particularly to consolidate digital information system as well as the alignment of the interaction between the government, the masses, and businesses are also needed.

The attempts to establish and effectively implement Smart City and SPBE have been done. However, unclear sectoral roles, lack of coordination between local governments and the central government, and the lack of integration of data between institutions still impede the efforts to move forward. In addition, the regulation that dictates the implementation practices of Smart City and SPBE itself also needs to be adjusted to the existing developments in the field. Therefore, standardization is needed in the implementation SPBE and Smart City initiatives, as well as the integration of applications used by central and local governments, collaboration among government agencies, as well as a long-term roadmap for the preparation of regulations.