If successful, the state hopes the initiative will pave the way for a secure national ID system, or e-KTP. The end game, however, must be to develop a more efficient bureaucracy and to cut red tape.
It can also prevent the doubling up of ID cards, therefore providing a more accurate population record.
Other countries have long implemented e-government facilities and services whereby residents can apply for driver’s licenses as well as other types of permits online. This helps to reduce corruption and also raises the quality of public services.
It is therefore hoped that in future a whole range of government services will be available online through the new system. This should include renewing driver’s licenses and even registering new businesses. If this happens in the not too distant future, it will save both time and money for all Indonesians.
Creating such a system will require significant new investment in hardware as well as training government officers to operate and manage the system. It will also require a new mind-set within the bureaucracy to be more service-minded.
For the moment, the bulk of the funding will come from the Ministry of Home Affairs — which has allocated Rp 6.6 trillion ($772.2 million) for the e-KTP program and other citizen registration initiatives. This is a significant investment but it cannot be avoided. The state must, however, ensure that every single rupiah is well spent and maximized.
If it is widely implemented and utilized, the new e-KTP will change the way the government works and conceives its role and responsibility to govern.
But it will take more than just campaigning to achieve greater acceptance of its programs. The government has been touting the new system to the public for the past two months. So far, the response has been good but this must be carried over to the next step.
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Quelle/Source: The Jakarta Globe, 21.07.2011
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