Indonesia Pushes for Digital Revolution Acceleration in the Region

Jakarta, InfoPublik - As one of Indonesia's three priority issues for ASEAN 2023, the government continues to support the digital economy to speed up the transformation of this sector and to improve digital infrastructure.

The development of digital transformation is reflected in the dynamics of the digital economy, with Indonesia's digital economy valued at $77 billion in 2022, the most in Southeast Asia. This number corresponds to 40% of ASEAN's internet economic market share.

The potential value of Indonesia's digital economy, which is anticipated to reach $130 billion by 2025, further strengthens the urgency of digital transformation.

"To realize this potential, the inclusive digital economic transformation must continue to be expedited to close the remaining digital gap. These endeavors are carried out by enhancing digital connectivity cooperation, boosting human resource capacity, digitizing payment and financial systems, and ensuring the security of digital data exchange," the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, spoke virtually at the DataSecureAI 2023 Web-Summit on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Based on data from the Interpol Cyber Assessment in 2021, there were 2,7 million ransomware attacks reported in ASEAN countries between January and September of 2020. Indonesia ranks first with 1,3 million cases.

In addition, cybercrime-related data leakage has the potential to generate global economic losses of up to US$5 trillion by 2024. To mitigate this risk, digital security guarantees and privacy protection are required.

As an initial step, on 17 October 2022, the Government passed Law Number 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (UU PDP) as the legal basis for the security of personal data.

"I would like to invite us all, and particularly the Summit attendees, to promote cyber resilience and data protection to accelerate digital transformation and bolster national economic resilience. Let us create an inclusive, conducive, and sustainable digital ecosystem together," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

In addition, Minister Airlangga noted that the government continues to pursue inclusive and sustainable economic development through a structural reform agenda. Structural reform efforts were continued by enacting the Job Creation Law, advancing digitization, eradicating extreme poverty, downstreaming industries based on green economic principles, and optimizing Investment Management Institutions for the renewable energy sector. Also, steps are being taken to deregulate risk-based business licensing (OSS-RBA) in order to become a game-changer in promoting increased investment.

As a means of accelerating the transition to green technology, the government is also engaged in efforts to develop Electric Vehicles (EVs) for downstream commodities. Maintaining the availability of raw materials for the downstream industry and increasing investment for the end-to-end growth of the EV battery value chain constitute the development strategy.

Photo: Ekon Public Relations

Reporter: Isma