Advertisement
Indonesia
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Indonesia’s hi-tech vision for Nusantara and economy draws scepticism, ‘Pandora’s box’ fears

  • A row between parking attendants and officials over a cashless payment system underscores Indonesians’ concerns about digitalisation’s impact
  • The physical ecosystem, laws and bureaucracy to support the country’s tech goals such as Nusantara are lacking, analysts say

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
An illustration of Indonesia’s future presidential palace in its new capital Nusantara, East Kalimantan. Photo: AFP
Johannes Nugroho
Indonesia’s ambitious goal to become a digital nation has prompted scepticism over the purported benefits of technology and Jakarta’s capacity to implement initiatives ranging from QR code-based payments to its new capital city anchored by artificial intelligence.
Advertisement
A recent viral video showing an altercation between parking attendants and transport officials on a busy street in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, is an example of how certain segments of society have yet to embrace digitalisation.

The parking attendants were concerned about their jobs after the municipal transport department proposed to allow drivers to use the country’s digital payment system to pay for parking fees.

“Down with QRIS! We refuse to work with it!” shouted one parking attendant angrily in the video.

The attendant was referring to the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS), a national app-based electronic payment platform recognised by most banks in Indonesia. Launched in 2020, the system can be used to pay for everything from public transport fees to restaurant bills and is endorsed by the government and the private sector.

But for many Indonesians who are used to dealing with cash, using new technology evokes fear of invasive bureaucratic oversight and job loss.

Advertisement
Advertisement