Yogyakarta, 24 July 2019—With the rapid development of new technologies, the government must always keep up with the current pace in order to pursue its national interests. Different states have different capabilities, in terms of both technology and institutional oversight. Thus, CfDS tried to analyse the possibility of the establishment of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Indonesia.
This research, which was entitled “Opportunities for the Establishment of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Indonesia” and was presented by four researchers from CfDS: Anisa Pratita Kirana Mantovani, Anggika Rahmadiani, Theodore Great Aipasa, Janitra Haryanto and Sri Handayani Nasution.
Anisa Pratita and Anggika Rahmadiani explained that this research utilized literature research and comparative studies as methods. The time frame of the data collection process was from May until June 2019. This research was conducted in line with the current trend, in which governments worldwide try to regulate the digital industry, where establishing a digital ministry is one of the possible options.
Several states, such as England, Scotland, Poland, Greece, Thailand, France, Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo, Madagascar, Russia and Germany were the benchmarks in this research. This research focused on the possible schemes of the digital ministry that can be applied in Indonesia.
Three options are available, in which the first option is the restructuration of the existing ministries, as has been done in Thailand, Benin, Russia and Poland. The second option is the establishment of new organizations that exist as subsidiaries to the previously existing ministries, similar to what England has implemented. The third option is the establishment of a completely new ministry, as can be seen in Greece. Different states have differing orientations, hence the different methods of regulating the digital industry.
The establishment of a Ministry of Digital Affairs is aimed to reduce the burden of the currently existing policymakers and law enforcers in the digital industry. Several policies and institutions, such as the Financial Services Authority’s Sandbox, the Ministry of Industry’s Making Indonesia 4.0 and the National Body for Cyber and Intelligence Affairs are some of the examples. With the presence of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Indonesia can have a stronger national strategy that can unify the existing digital policies. Hopefully, this ministry will not overlap with the affairs and jurisdictions of the already existing institutions. Indonesia can learn from several other states that have successfully established institutions specifically to regulate the digital industry, or even a digital ministry. The most important aspect is formulating the orientation as a basis for future policies.