VP Ma’ruf Amin: Indonesia Must Be Digitally Independent

Digitalization provides convenience for the communities and has a broad impact on all aspects of people’s lives, such as e-commerce in the trade sector, fintech and e-payment in the banking sector, and edutech in the education sector, as well as digital public services that become a tangible manifestation of the Government in providing excellent services.

“Indonesia must become digitally independent. The wheel of digital economy must also reach large, micro, and small businesses,” Vice President Ma’ruf Amin said in his remarks at the National Mass Media Convention in Commemoration of the 2022 National Press Day, held virtually, Monday (02/07).

According to the Vice President, digital independence in various fields requires the cooperation of all elements of the nation.

“Digital independence must become a movement and awareness of all elements of the nation. Our active roles will further strengthen the efforts to build sovereignty in the midst of various digitalization challenges,” he said.

The Vice President underscored that digitalization is currently the engine of the national economy. Indonesia’s digital economy is predicted to be the largest in Southeast Asia by 2025 with a value of Rp1,700 trillion.

“There are around 21 million new digital consumers during the pandemic. The accumulated purchase value of internet users in Indonesia also increased by 49 percent, from US$47 billion US dollars to US$70 billion by the end of 2021,” he explained.

Ma’ruf also asserted that the Government continues to protect a conducive business climate to improve the people’s economy by developing the positive side of digitalization and opening up more space for the nation’s children to create digital innovations.

“We would like to develop positive aspects of digitalization, such as economic empowerment, the advancement of the creative economy and MSMEs, and to provide space for digital innovation by the nation’s children. Therefore, proportional regulation must be implemented,” he said.

Regarding the Draft Regulation on Protecting Publisher Rights, Ma’ruf said that the Government will continue to strive for a balanced media ecosystem in the country.

“The regulation is pivotal to create healthy business competition and balanced power relations,” he stated.

The Vice President further said that the regulation aims to protect the interests of the national press in the face of domination of new media and to maintain the media ecosystem so that it can be enjoyed in a balanced way.

“The regulation is an important element to maintain the media ecosystem so that the benefits of digital space can be enjoyed in a balanced way, and national sovereignty in the digital field can be realized,” he stressed.

On the occasion, the Vice President also congratulated the National Press Day and expressed hope that the National Mass Media Convention could provide contributions in the fields of information technology and media digitalization.

“I wish happy the 2022 National Press Day to all Indonesian press. Good luck on your discussions and I hope this convention can produce comprehensive inputs, especially in building national sovereignty in the fields of information technology and media digitalization,” he remarked.

Previously, Chairperson of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Atal S. Depari called on the press to continually make an improvement, including the trend and quality of reporting through the Publisher Rights.