VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN-RB) Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas met with Australian Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, to discuss efforts to digitize public services.

"In the meeting, we talked about the practices of digitizing public services carried out in both countries. We gained insights from Australia's experiences, and we also outlined Indonesia's efforts to expedite the transformation of its public services," he noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Minister Anas remarked that President Joko Widodo had placed the acceleration in the transformation of public services as one of his priorities.

The minister further stated that during his visit to Australia, he had led the Indonesian delegation to meet with representatives from the Australian Public Service Commission, Services Australia, Data Transparency Commission, Australian National university, and Digital Transformation Agency.

Based on the meetings, Anas said that he arrived at a conclusion that gradual and sustainable efforts were required for the transformation of public services.

"In some cases, such as in Australia, incremental and gradual changes tend to be more effective (in transforming public services). We know, however, that such changes also have advantages and disadvantages," he remarked.

The minister then affirmed that the Indonesian government's efforts to transform public services have been on track.

Anas also observed that the efforts of Indonesia and Australia to transform their public services have been met with similar obstacles, such as sectoral egos, wide coverage, and existing digital literacy gap between certain regions and major cities.

"To realize a transformation, especially in government services, it is essential to build trust between the government and the people and among government institutions. Furthermore, elites must commit to producing regulations that will bind all government institutions," he elaborated.

According to Anas, the Indonesian government had been striving to transform public services, with a special focus on health, education, and social services, by optimizing the digital space without neglecting offline services.

"We hope that Australia will become a strategic partner, so we can work together to develop the digital ecosystem for the sake of providing the best services to the people," he stated. (Antaranews)