Local Administrations Need to Support Digital Transformation in 4.0 Era

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

A child has data recorded for the making of a Child Identity Card (KIA) by the South Tangerang City Population and Civil Registry Office at an event in Pondok Cabe, South Tangerang, Banten, in November (25/11/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A wave of innovation has emerged in many parts of Indonesia in recent years, including the digitalization of public services. However, the regional innovations and preconditions in responding to the challenges of public services in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) era are still quite diverse between regions.

Therefore, the transformation toward a Service 4.0 era needs to be strengthened. Regional leaders who have a vision and an adaptive regional bureaucracy are needed to deal with change.

Besides having an impact on the production sector, it can also improve public services.

Industry 4.0 is characterized by automation and the application of artificial intelligence in various aspects of life. Besides having an impact on the production sector, it can also improve public services.

Data from the Administrative and Bureaucracy Reform Ministry (PAN and RB) show an increase in the number of innovations submitted to the Public Service Innovation Competition (KIPP) in the last five years. In 2014 there were only 515 innovations registered with KIPP, while in 2019 the number increased to 3,156 submitted by 44 ministries and institutions, 28 provincial governments and 268 regency and city governments.

"I see that the initiative of the regional governments is quite good. After we initiated the One Agency One Innovation movement in 2013, which requires each government institution to make one innovation per year, the local governments’ response has been very positive," PAN and RB Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said in early January.

KOMPAS/ANGGER PUTRANTO

A civil servant demonstrates the home page of the e-Government application developed by the Banyuwangi regency administration in September (4/9/2019).

Amid the limited capacity and authority of regional governments, innovation becomes a bridge to optimize services. The digitalization that became one of the markers of the Third Industrial Revolution could be a stepping stone toward the 4.0 era.

In Banyuwangi, East Java, village offices and public spaces have been used to provide wi-fi connections. The e-performance, which is part of e-government, was also developed to facilitate monitoring that is used to measure the performance of civil servants.

Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said the innovation had given regions the power to do many tasks and solve problems in serving citizens.

In Surabaya, East Java, population administration services, from birth to

death registrations, can be managed through a network system. Health and education services can be accessed more easily thanks to digitization.

"Electronic-based systems are able to reduce corruption. Services can be more effective and efficient because the bureaucratic process can be cut," said Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini.

Inevitability

The executive director of the Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee, Robert Endi Jaweng, said that the transformation of the public service sector was a necessity, no longer just limited to the use of an e-government app. Some public services have even begun to be replaced by artificial intelligence.

There are regions that are very advanced in preparing preconditions for the 4.0 era, such as Jakarta and Surabaya, but other regions are still completely manual and corrupt.

According to Endi, the challenges of transformative change are in the regions because the levels of services of local governments are very diverse. There are regions that are very advanced in preparing preconditions for the 4.0 era, such as Jakarta and Surabaya, but other regions are still completely manual and corrupt.

"We need a leader of change, an adaptive governance ecosystem, a service culture and a new mentality and support from adequate soft and hard infrastructure. An agile bureaucracy is the key to winning competition," he said.

According to him, the bureaucracy is now at the center of changes that have never been imagined before. If there is doubt in responding to the change, the government would be abandoned because it would only become a negative factor or a burden.

Tjahjo said the government was trying to answer the challenge by increasing the competence of the civil servants and the implementation of e-government services. (WHY/ETA/SYA/GER/IKI/TAM/WSI)