Keynote Speech by President The Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of Open Government, Bali,6 May 2014

Selasa, 06 Mei 2014
Di baca 950 kali

KEYNOTE SPEECH

BY

H.E. DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT

THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL CONFERENCE

OF

OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

NUSA DUA, BALI - 6 MAY 2014

 

 

 

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Om Swastyastu,

 

May peace be upon us all,

Excellencies Ministers,

Mr. Rakesh Rajani, Open Government Partnership, CSO Leading Chair,

Honorable Governor of Bali,

Excellencies Ambassadors and Representatives of United Nations Agencies and International Organizations,

Distinguished Delegates and Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

At the outset, I would like also  to welcome all of you to Bali, a world renowned island, rich in culture, tradition and history. We are very pleased to host this Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of the Open Government Partnership. The theme of this Conference "Unlocking Innovative Openness: Impetus to Greater Civic Engagement" is indeed very timely. In parallel with the economic achievement throughout our region, we see the ever increased activism among our people in governance.

 

I, therefore,  commend the Indonesian Organizing Committee, together with the OGP Steering Committee and the OGP Support Unit, for convening this important Conference. You have successfully brought together a diverse groups of delegations in this auspicious occasion. I can see among us representatives of governments, regional,  and international organizations, civil society organizations, academia, youth, private sector, and the media.

 

This gathering shows the strength and increasing relevance of the Open Government Partnership. Looking back, OGP began as a multilateral initiative of like-minded countries across the globe. As has been said by Dr. Kuntoro, They include Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and a number of civil society organizations.

 

After two years, the OGP has transformed itself into a global movement. Now there are sixty-four countries, and around 200 civil society organizations joining the OGP. It is with this encouraging development that Indonesia is proud to co-chair the OGP with Mexico this year. As co-chairs, we are determined to strengthen this global movement in line with the continuous dynamism in our region.

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

I believe, we all share the view that openness and transparency are key to an effective government. These are the virtues that the OGP promotes. And these are the virtues that can help governments respond to the public needs more promptly and appropriately. Such as to deliver more economic benefits, civic rights, and equal opportunities to improve people's lives.

 

We also believe that open and transparent government is a source of trust and predictability. They serve as a good basis for a more sustainable cooperation among governments, including to help resolve regional and global problems more coherently.

 

Although an open and transparent government is good, it is still not good enough, if the public distant themselves from civic participation. in my view, openness and transparency should stimulate their sense of ownership in open government.

 

That is why Indonesia's chairmanship of the OGP this year gives a particular emphasis on public participation.In that light, let me share some thoughts on ways to promote greater civic engagement in an open and transparent government.

 

First is trust building.  Open and transparent governments should collaborate with citizens and civil societies based on trusts. Such trusts would enable them to solve pressing problems together as partners. Second is outreach.In the era of "online social network," governments need to reach out more frequently and innovatively to citizens. They need to open greater access for people's participation. This includes in the budgetary process and decision-making that affects them.

 

Third are facilitation and empowerment. Not all citizens and civil societies have the capacity and opportunity to participate in an open government process. Therefore, we need to empower them so that they can actively engage in the public sphere. This includes empowerment through various administrative, legal, and institutional measures.

 

And fourth is building the culture of participation and engagement.Culture of participation and engagement is essential not only to robust democracy but also to the very idea of civic engagement in open government. Making participation and engagement as a habit is critical to sustainable openness and transparency.

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Getlemen,

 

Indonesia continues to put meaning to the ideals of open government. We try our best to empower rather than instruct, to inspire rather than force, and to embrace rather than exclude. This is the reason why we created the Open Government Indonesia, known as OGI.

 

I must say that the OGI has enhanced our national efforts to implement good governance and transparency. It serves as a catalyst for public service delivery reform. And at the same time, it alters public's perception regarding their rights to information.

 

By way of persuasion and innovation, our OGI program has helped reform our bureaucracies for the better. I am pleased that some of our initiatives have been referred to as best practices. In this regard, let me share with you three initiatives that we have been advancing in the context of the OGI.

 

First, in the field of fiscal and data transparency. Our fiscal transparency program is aimed at providing budgetary information to the people. This allows citizens to exercise greater oversight on budget transparency. I am pleased that our efforts have been recognized by the International Budget Partnership through its Open Budget Index Survey. Our Open Budget Index in  2012 score, had risen from 51 in 2010 to 62 in 2012, making Indonesia one of the highest in Southeast Asia.

 

And on data transparency, our new invention is "One Map Indonesia." This One Map,  serving as the national reference, is made possible by the collective efforts of various government agencies. You may want to check the Map is, I should say, you may want to check the Map  in its web portal from time to time.

 

The map functions as the single authoritative reference for all different types of government maps, from forest to mining concessions and conservation area. It also makes us appreciate better the value of one reference, one standard, one geoportal and one database of information.

 

We are also now developing the "Indonesia Data Portal". A virtual integrated space for all government data that is freely available and accessible for public use. I believe that this Portal would eventually help the Indonesian Governments deliver better public services, achieve greater economic development,  catalyze innovation, and promote good governance and social accountability. This integrated source of information will help accelerate the achievement of our goal for sustainable development.

 

Second, in the field of public services, we have initiated the "Open Government Indonesia Public Service Competition" in 2012. We invited 34 of our line ministries with their 62 public services to participate in the "OGI competition."

 

Through the competition, government institutions are measured based on their level of openness to the public. This competition also allows bureaucracies to innovate and create practical ways for the public to participate in open government processes.

 

And third, in the field of citizens voices, we have utilized information technology to expedite two-way traffic of communication between governments and citizens.

 

Inspired by the wide use of social media, we have improved and strengthened our program "LAPOR", which means "to report". Under this program, we are able to narrow time lapses in responding to citizens' complaints, aspirations, and enquiries.We have also developed a program known as "SOLUSIMU", solusi made in Indonesian languange,  which means "your solution". This program is aimed at catalyzing innovative ideas and providing a more comprehensive channels for citizen, citizens input.

 

Under this program, we receive a large amount of submissions from our citizens, including through social media. This is one of the means that for the government to reach out to various remote locations across the archipelago. I am pleased to mention that some of the submissions are proven useful in the policy-making process.

 

On my part, as has been said by Mr Rajani, I have opened myself for direct communications with citizens through traditional media such as PO Box 9949,  and SMS 9949. Despite advancement in information and communications technology, in the past eight years, I still received more than 100.000 letters through the PO Box. I also received more than 3.5 million text-messages.

 

Recently, I joined social media such as Twitter and Facebook for a faster interchange of ideas with netizens. To my surprise, as of today I have close to 5 million followers to my Twitter. And I have also 2.7 million fans to my Facebook.  I also actively engage in Youtube.

 

Some of my followers told me that this number makes me the second most followed political Leader in the world. But I must say, I am very busy day by day, night after night  In fact, based on report from reliable sources, many among the audience today are actively following my Twitter account.

 

In my experiences join, joining the world of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, we must at all time be ready to face criticisms and suggestions. And for sure to welcome supports. Once we are able to wisely respond to these inputs, we will surely feel much closer to our people.

 

I use their inputs to assess as to whether they are in favor or not of my decisions and policies. I can say that my people do not feel left behind in the decision-making process. And,alhamdulillah, this has contributed positively to our efforts in maintaining social and political stability in the past ten years. As we achieve this social and political stability, as well as security, we can thus continue improving our economy to further improve the welfare of the people.

 

 Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Despite the tremendous growth of OGP, the participation of Asia-Pacific countries in this movement has yet to increase. To date, only ten Asia-Pacific countries are members of the OGP. We want to see more countries from our region to join this movement, so that our voice can be sufficiently represented in the OGP.

 

Asia-Pacific participation is important because OGP's greatest strength lies in its facilitation of the exchange of ideas, learning, and experiences on open and good governance. Through this shared learning experience, OGP offers opportunities for countries in the region to exchange experiences in the implementation of good governance.

 

I believe our region must play a critical role in promoting OGP. Asia-Pacific remains one of the most dynamic regions in the world. I am convinced that it will continue to become an engine of global economy growth. And I am pleased that my confidence was also shared by other APEC Leaders when they gathered here in Bali couple months ago. Together we declared that the future of Asia-Pacific would be prosperous, stable, dynamic, inclusive, and forward-looking.

 

Before I conclude, I would like to once again convey my appreciation to all of you for your participation in this Conference. I would also like to thank the Government of Mexico for their support and close collaboration during our co-chairmanship of the OGP.

 

With public participation as the central theme of our Conference, I do hope that you,  that your two-day deliberations will further advance civic engagement in OGP. I also hope that our Conference could attract more interest among civil society organizations in OGP, and perhaps in joining this movement.

 

Finally, Ladies and Gentelemen, while wishing you all successfull conference, I do hope you will find time and have plenty of civic engagements in Bali. I wan to be a sales person now.  I encourage you to experience the splendor of Balinese culture and nature. I also encourage you to bring home Balinese souvenirs. As, thank you. As you do this, you will engage with diverse local people and contribute to the local economy.

 

Thank you.

 

Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om.

 

 

 

Asisten Deputi Naskah dan Penerjemahan,

Deputi Bidang Dukungan Kebijakan,

Kementerian Sekretariat Negara RI