Keselamatan siber adalah antara cabaran utama masa kini buat setiap organisasi di era digital. Pendekatan dan solusi yang melangkaui aspek perlindungan perlu diperhalusi untuk mengekalkan kesinambungan perniagaan setiap organisasi.

Laporan global pertengahan tahun 2021 daripada pakar keselamatan siber yang berpangkalan di United Kingdom – Acronis,  menunjukkan bahawa kos purata pelanggaran/kebocoran data dan maklumat adalah sekitar AS$3.56 juta. Purata bayaran perisian tebusan (ransomware) pula meningkat sebanyak 33 peratus kepada lebih daripada AS$100,000.

Menurut ulasan dari pakar keselamatan siber dari TM One - cabang perusahaan dan sektor awam Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), COVID-19 telah mendedahkan syarikat dan organisasi kepada lebih banyak ancaman pencerobohan pangkalan maklumat. Persoalan tentang serangan siber kini telah menjadi ‘bila’ ianyanya akan berlaku dan bukan lagi ‘jika’ ia akan berlaku. Walaupun pelbagai langkah telah di ambil, kebanyakan organisasi masih berisiko dan terdedah kepada serangan.

Tahukah Anda?

50% daripada data Kerajaan yang menjadi sasaran, berpotensi untuk digodam, dengan akses kepada data melalui API.3 Ancaman Utama keselamatan ICT  terhadap pusat data sektor awam Malaysia:
1. Ancaman Teknikal
2.Perisian Perisik dan Phishing
3. Kejuruteraan Sosial

Sumber: Researchgate
152,653
Jumlah insiden Botnet Drones dan Malware dilaporkan di bawah MyCert pada Mac 2022.



Sumber: MyCERT

Dengan tumpuan untuk menyelami bagaimana sektor awam dan swasta boleh mengukuhkan tahap kesiapsiagaan keselamatan siber mereka, ramai pakar dari pelbagai bidang berkongsi pelbagai pandangan, pengalaman, dan pendekatan secara terbuka. Konsensus umum mendapati isu persekitaran IT yang kompleks adalah cabaran utama terhadap pelaksanaan keselamatan siber yang efektif.

Berikut adalah tiga kunci kritikal untuk menentang ancaman keselamatan siber:

Pengesahan ID yang lebih pantas

Gabungan teknologi blockchain dan kaedah biometrik menawarkan solusi yang lebih mantap dan selamat untuk mengesahkan identiti pengguna.

Pandemik COVID-19 telah memaksa lebih banyak organisasi mencari penyelesaian untuk membolehkan akses dari jauh (remote) kepada sistem. Memandangkan trend ini dijangka berterusan, pengesahan identiti pengguna adalah amat penting untuk keselamatan organisasi dan untuk memacu operasi yang lancar.

Sistem blockchain membenarkan data disimpan secara kolektif, yang menghalang sebarang gangguan/godaman. Pengguna boleh mendaftarkan butiran identiti mereka ke dalam sistem ini, dan organisasi keselamatan siber atau penyedia perkhidmatan seperti TM One kemudiannya akan memastikan ia tidak dapat ditembusi oleh penggodam.

TM One menawarkan penyelesaian Pengesahan Blockchain Terjamin (Blockchain Secure Authentication – BSA). Penyelesaian ini adalah sebahagian daripada tonggak Pusat Pertahanan Siber (CYDEC) yang fokus kepada perlindungan identiti digital. Ia adalah teknologi pengesahan tanpa kata laluan untuk mengelakkan serangan kelayakan (credential attacks), dimana penjenayah siber memintas langkah keselamatan organisasi dan mencuri data sulit. Langkah keselamatan melalui penyelesaian ini amat diperlukan terutamanya dalam sektor-sektor yang menyimpan data-data sulit dan peribadi pelanggan mereka seperti sektor Perbankan, Perkhidmatan Kewangan dan Insurans (BFSI), Sektor Kesihatan, Perkhidmatan Media Sosial dan Sektor Runcit.

Pengesahan blockchain adalah selamat, malah lebih pantas, dimana pengesahan pengguna boleh dilakukan dalam masa kurang daripada tiga saat. Penggabungan dengan sistem biometrik pula akan membolehkan proses pengesahan tanpa kata laluan sepenuhnya untuk pekerja sesebuah organisasi.

Teknologi biometrik, seperti sistem pengecaman muka, tidak memerlukan pengguna menghafal kata laluan. Terdapat banyak kes yang melaporkan penggodam mengakses dan mencuri kata laluan, dan pengesahan biometrik boleh membantu mengelakkan perkara ini.

Automasi sistem keselamatan

Automasi sistem keselamatan siber membolehkan pasukan IT mengoptimumkan sumber sambil mengurangkan kesilapan manusia dalam tindak balas keselamatan.

Automasi ini juga dapat memberi faedah yang melangkaui  aspek keselamatan siber. Aplikasi peranti mudah alih, Internet Benda (IoT), Kecerdasan Buatan (AI) dan automasi boleh digunakan untuk menggantikan tugas manual yang berulang sebagai sebahagian daripada usaha transformasi digital kerajaan dalam menyediakan perkhidmatan yang efektif dan selamat kepada rakyat.

Sebagai contoh, keselamatan pengumpulan maklumat sulit dan peribadi yang besar dalam sektor kesihatan melalui aplikasi yang membantu meningkatkan usaha pengendalian wabak. Inisiatif transformasi digital seperti ini akan membantu mengurus aliran data dan maklumat yang sulit dengan lebih baik tetapi ianya perlu dilakukan dengan menjadikan perlindungan privasi dan keselamatan data dan maklumat sebagai keutamaan.

Bekerjasama dengan pakar keselamatan siber

Banyak perniagaan tidak mempunyai peralatan dan kemahiran yang diperlukan untuk melindungi mereka daripada ancaman siber yang sangat kompleks dan sentiasa berubah dengan pantas. Sehubungan dengan ini, pilihan untuk bekerjasama dengan rakan kongsi keselamatan menjadi salah satu penyelesaian utama. TM One menawarkan perkhidmatan langganan yang merangkumi penyelesaian bertaraf dunia untuk membantu meningkatkan kemahiran pasukan keselamatan dalaman sesebuah syarikat atau organisasi.

Pasukan perkhidmatan profesional keselamatan siber TM One terdiri daripada arkitek, perunding dan penganalisa keselamatan. Arkitek memberi tumpuan terhadap reka bentuk sistem keselamatan, yang di bantu oleh pakar perunding. Sementara itu, penganalisa keselamatan akan memberikan maklumat operasi keselamatan dengan menilai ancaman secara berterusan.

Portfolio keselamatan siber bertaraf dunia TM One menyediakan pelbagai penyelesaian untuk melindungi sistem daripada ancaman siber masa kini. Malah, TM One telah menandatangani perjanjian dengan firma komunikasi global Telefonica untuk memperkukuhkan penyelesaian infrastruktur digitalnya dan menentang ancaman siber secara global. Kepakaran kedua-dua syarikat ini akan memberi organisasi di Malaysia penyelesaian keselamatan siber yang kukuh dan berdaya tahan siber yang tinggi.

Kesinambungan kesemua ekosistem keselamatan digital perlu dilakukan secara holistik. Dalam persekitaran yang sangat mencabar hari ini, kolaborasi dalam menangani keselamatan siber menjadi keperluan asas untuk membantu organisasi dalam kesiapsiagaan keselamatan siber mereka dengan lebih baik.

TM One akan terus memainkan peranan penting dalam membantu organisasi memperkukuh keselamatan siber mereka dan mengurangkan risiko serangan siber.

Adakah anda tahu apakah sumber utama risiko siber di Malaysia? Klik pautan untuk memuat turun maklumat grafik megenai risiko siber utama di Malaysia.

Artikel ini telah diterbitkan oleh Berita Harian pada 23 Jun 2022.

In Malaysia, banks are stepping up in their journey into more sustainable financing and operating practices, making efforts to integrate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations into their governance, business strategy, operations and risks management.

Consulting firm PwC conducted a survey last year to gauge the Malaysian banking sector’s readiness for ESG. Results from the study were released recently and showed that financial institutions in the country have woken up to the ESG imperative, with most sharing concerns about climate change, environmental and social risks.

Of the 14 Malaysian banks polled, 90% indicated having assigned a department to operationalize ESG, showcasing that Malaysian banks are making progress in establishing governance and oversight over ESG risks.

In addition, 21% of respondents said they have already embedded three ESG-related frameworks within their organization, namely the Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT), the Value-based Intermediation Financing and Investment Impact Assessment Framework (VBIAF), and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Adoption of ESG frameworks in Malaysian banks, Source: PwC’s 2021 survey on ESG readiness in the Malaysian banking sector.

Results from the 2021 PwC survey echo those of a study conducted the same year by Malaysia’s Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3). Formed in 2019, JC3 is a committee co-chaired by representatives from the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) that focuses on building climate resilience within the Malaysia financial sector.

The study, released in April 2022, shares findings from a survey of 24 respondents in the banking, finance and insurance sectors, and found strong commitments from Malaysian financial institutions on sustainability and climate issues.

92% of respondents indicated having a sustainability strategy in place, and 73% of banking respondents said they have made some commitments to ban or phase out financing of coal-related activities.

In the banking sector, Hong Leong Bank has been praised for being among the industry’s leaders in ESG standards, recognized by a 2021 CGS-CIMB Research paper for its efforts in promoting ESG practices across its operations, working with its borrowers to improve standards, incorporating ESG evaluation in its loan approval process, and practicing disclosure of ESG-related information.

Within the telecommunications sector, CGS-CIMB Securities has ranked Telekom Malaysia (TM) highly from an ESG perspective, highlighting the telco’s ability to consistently meet the regulator’s quality of service (QoS), key performance indicators (KPIs), relatively lower regulatory risks compared to other mobile telco players, and continuous effort to implement a robust cybersecurity framework.

TM announced earlier this year that it had implemented the use of renewable energy to power its data centres, becoming the first company in the country to do so. Two of its data centres, namely the Klang Valley Core Data Centre (KVDC) in Cyberjaya and Iskandar Puteri Core Data Centre (IPDC) in Johor Bahru have secured the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), as well as Green Building Index (GBI) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications.

Further showcasing its commitment to sustainability, TM, together with Yayasan Sukarelawan Siswa (YSS) and 18 partners comprising local councils, institutions and universities, recently collaborated to plant 5,017 Gutta Percha trees (instrumental in the early beginnings of the global submarine telegraph network) at 23 locations all over Malaysia.

Members of the public will also have the opportunity to contribute as TM launched its Adopt-A-Tree campaign where customers can adopt a Gutta Percha tree which will be planted within the 23 unifi Green Zones.

In the long term, TM aims to cut down carbon emissions by 30% in 2024, 45% by 2030 and achieve Net-Zero emission by 2050.

The company is also aiming to provide high-access Internet to at least 70% of premises nationwide and has committed to having a minimum of 30% representation of women on its board of directors and in management.

The 12th Malaysia Plan

Progress observed among Malaysian firms in integrating ESG considerations comes on the back of an ongoing push by the government to advance sustainability, as well as strengthen security, wellbeing, and inclusivity.

The five-year 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) development plan, introduced by the government back in September 2021, aims to achieve economic growth and transform Malaysia into “a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable country.”

Goals include achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, increasing the total installed capacity of renewable energy, enhancing green financing and incentives, and promoting the circular economy.

Malaysia’s five-year sustainability plans under the 12th Malaysia Plan, Source: Trending- Sustainable responsible investment in Malaysia and the region, EY, 2022

In the financial sector, the industry is guided by the respective blueprints and masterplans released by the regulators to address sustainability and climate issues.

In September 2021, the SC launched the Capital Market Masterplan 3 (CMP3), which serves as a strategic framework for the capital market to continue to support the economy and transition towards greater inclusivity and sustainability.

And earlier this year, BNM released the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026, outlining the central bank’s development priorities for the financial sector over the next five years, anchored on efforts to foster market dynamism, support sustainable development objectives, and facilitate an orderly transition to greener, more climate-resilient economy and financial sector.

Rising demand for sustainable investments

The rise in importance of ESG standards comes as consumers are growing more concerned about the environment and demand institutions to behave in ways that align with what they believe is socially responsible.

PwC, which polled 5,005 consumers, 2,510 employees, and 1,257 business leaders in the US, Brazil, the UK, Germany and India last year, found that 83% of consumers believe companies should be actively involved in creating ESG best practices. More significantly, 76% of consumers said they would discontinue relationships with organizations that treated employees, communities, or the environment poorly.

In Southeast Asia, this trend is evidenced by the surge in sustainable investing. Between 2016 and 2020, the issuance of sustainable bonds and sukuk, or bond-like instruments used in Islamic finance, grew exponentially at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 198% in ASEAN, reaching US$22.1 billion in 2020, a 2022 report by EY shows. Total ASEAN sustainable bonds and sukuk issued is projected to amount to US$29.8 billion in 2021.

Growth trend of ASEAN6 sustainable bonds and sukuk, 2016-2021, Source: Trending: Sustainable responsible investment in Malaysia and the region, EY, 2022

This article was first published by FinTech News Malaysia

Many governments, state councils and local authorities talk about the potential of smart cities and how they unlock new possibilities in a hyper-connected urban environment. Ideas such as the sky being filled with flying taxis, robots sweeping the streets and rooftop farming on every building may seem like the epitome of human civilisation. But, is this the future we seek? The various studies into smart city concepts all lead us to one key observation, intelligence technologies will play a far more significant role in our daily routine as compared to massively disruptive ideas.

A brief look at the global smart city landscape reveals good progress in making our cities intelligent. Examples of the international efforts to build the foundations of next-gen digital playgrounds include prominent cities:

Malaysia is rising up to its global peers on this front. The national policies under the Malaysia Smart City Framework (MSCF), which includes MyDigital, IR4RD, JENDELA and GTMP, is set to enable the translation of blueprints into meaningful action plans.

Setting the course

From a survey held during the previous City Leap Summit 2020, TM One collected insightful grassroots data from 33 local councils or Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBTs) on smart city implementations. Results displayed that most respondents were not ready to turn plans into actions due to gaps in infrastructure, shortage of financial resources, and below-average talent capabilities.

In addition, PBTs in Malaysia focused their efforts on basic systemic issues surrounding security, safety and transportation that have already been experimented on in other countries. Out of all the solutions introduced to local leaders, smart security & surveillance, smart traffic lights and smart parking systems were the top 3 priorities to help citizens achieve a better quality of life.

While the results may reflect the state of mind two years ago, we need to think bigger. A powerful catalyst for PBTs is to reimagine how their cities can create better living experience for Malaysians. While the extensive list of smart indicators provided by ISO 37122 may appear intimidating, the journey toward building smart cities begins with a single step forward.

A look at smarter cities

Many around the world have already mastered of the art of building smart cities. So, as we celebrate the remarkable technological developments in major cities worldwide, we should also learn from them. Here are a few examples of cities that have embodied the critical success factors that contribute to a winning smart city:

TM One, the trusted partner

TM One is in a prime position to support the government’s vision for smart and sustainable cities around the nation. While fancy solutions may capture headlines, we understand the importance of a strong foundation.  

We provide an unparalleled level of robust and secured digital connectivity, coupled with a solid digital infrastructure. This includes Hyperscaled intelligent cloud solution and data centre infrastructure and services that protect data sovereignty.

As TM One continues to build solutions for the needs of tomorrow, we offer a wide array of smart city solutions to address the immediate PBT needs of today. Smart city applications, dashboards, smart street and traffic lights, smart parking systems and deep surveillance are great examples of our market-ready solutions to bring our customers closer to smart and sustainable cities. In fact, 25 PBTs around Malaysia have already deployed our smart surveillance systems to keep our citizens and utility infrastructure safe.

The icing on the cake is our integrated operation centre (IOC) which is a robust platform designed to efficiently consolidate various data types from networks and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to intelligent applications. This integrated monitoring system will enable local governments to make quick decisions and changes in response to real-time conditions.

TM One is the one-stop hub to support Malaysia’s smart city needs

What are the next steps?

While our solutions are ready to help PBTs in their mission to roll out smart city projects, we encourage a more structured approach.

The first step is to design a smart city blueprint that narrows down the PBTs’ concerns. We no longer need country-level frameworks; we need immediate action plans. Start by finding local priorities and focus on the key problems that would best benefit the citizens when addressed.

Next, implement solutions that have quick wins and solve the core issue. Take the initiative to experiment with niche smart city solutions and validate their benefits.

Last but not least, be open to exploring different types of collaboration models. Often, private-public partnerships are good ways to leverage the unique strengths of two distinct organizations to create a powerful solution. TM One is committed to helping Malaysia move toward smart and sustainable cities for a better future.

Md Farabi Yusoff, Head of Smart City from PLANMalaysia delivered his presentation at TM One’s City Leap Summit 2002. This article summarizes the key takeaways from his address. 

“Smartness” is not a measure of how advanced or complex the technology being adopted is, but how well the solutions solve the society’s problems and address existential challenges”

– YB Datuk Seri Reezal Merican bin Naina Merican, Minister of Housing & Local Government

Smart City has been a hot topic of discussion for the past decade. With the advent of IR 4.0, the technology underpinning smart cities has matured significantly. Over the years, the Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT)’s understanding of the potential benefits to be reaped through the implementation of smart cities has also evolved. The next big challenge is in making the implementation of smart cities successful. There are two key imperatives in making this possible, viz., (a) developing a holistic smart city plan and (b) a blueprint for turning fundamental concepts into action. 

Developing a holistic smart city

Smart cities cannot be developed in silos – it requires a network of connected solutions that are effectively integrated, with data feeding into each element to ensure all facets of city-dwelling are elevated to the same level of capability and efficiency. An effective smart city is both holistic in nature and all-encompassing. The network of connected solutions also needs to be functional, providing tangible solutions to actual issues faced by citizens.

Even at a conceptual level, holisticness and people-centricity need to be embedded into smart city development to guide decision-making and ensure the solutions chosen are people-oriented and realistic. For this to happen, smart cities require careful planning and development, with each decision accounting for infrastructure, city operations and digital capabilities to create the solutions capable of elevating all elements of city-dwelling.

PBTs should prioritise taking this holistic approach into the conceptual framework of smart cities:

Turning fundamental concepts into action

While a holistic, all-encompassing conceptual framework underpins smart cities’ strategic development, implementing the said framework presents an entirely different challenge. Concrete action plans based on a flexible, adaptable blueprint is the surest way forward in making smart city initiatives a success.

In creating an adaptable blueprint, PBTs need to ensure that all the 4 fundamentals of smart city planning are covered. While the overall action plan can be carried out incrementally through stages, each stage needs rigorous review. Subsequent actions need to be adapted to fit needs of citizens and PBTs accordingly as new findings arise across the journey. The blueprint can broadly be classified into three distinct phases.

The role of PLANMalaysia in the Smart City agenda

As the Federal Department of town and country planning for Peninsular Malaysia, PLANMalaysia’s role in the smart city agenda is to guide and support local councils in realising their smart city aspirations. Our work encompasses the four areas which are detailed below.   

Creating Smart City blueprints: Effective smart city planning and implementation cannot be one-off decisions. Each element needs to feed into one another to create a network of systems and solutions. With that, PBTs need a blueprint that strikes a balance in being both definitive and flexible, and to assist decision-making when it comes to choosing solutions and deciding ways forward – this is where PLANMalaysia comes in, to guide PBTs on blueprint formation and ensure decisions made are holistic and adaptable to future needs.

Running Malaysia Urban Observatory (MUO): Data collection and interpretation are integral to smart cities. MUO is a data-sharing platform that enables public data sharing and supports decision-making. PLANMalaysia’s custody of MUO ensures that all local councils can benefit from the federal department’s collaboration and support, effectively interpreting public data in enhancing services tied to smart city systems. 

SmartCity Accreditations: Involved in the makings of the standards or benchmarks for smart cities and data integration. To ensure usability of data and effectiveness of smart city implementation, certain criteria needs to be met to ensure systems chosen are in fact beneficial, functional and can be used to generate the right insights to enhance public services.

Increasing Awareness: One of the vital challenges to smart city implementation is stakeholder management, and there are many. PLANMalaysia endeavours to manage vital stakeholders by running several campaigns and programs to align all relevant stakeholders, from investors to local authorities to local communities. This fuels understanding of the ultimate goal of transforming into a smart city and the benefits that stand to be gained by all stakeholders.

When addressing smart cities in the past, we may have been uncertain of what was needed. We may have not fully grasped the technology or were not aware of what we wanted out of it. Today, we are in a much more secure position – enriched by knowledge, alongside the maturation of the technology, we are more ready than ever to be elevated towards a smarter future. The road ahead may not be simple or straightforward, but we are equipped with guides, blueprints and action plans which are both symbols and roadmaps to success. They represent our common goals is our binding objective in uniting all stakeholders towards a smarter, healthier, more sustainable Malaysia.

Smart cities made its debut as an idea over a decade ago. The growing pains of urbanisation required governments around the world to consider leveraging technology to help alleviate the big challenges facing the cities. The problems for dense cities are many, ranging from high energy consumption, traffic congestion, pollution and increase in crime. The technology is ready and available, yet majority of the smart city projects have met with limited success. As with all new things, there are risks involved. But moving forward takes a bit of courage, and a leap of faith. After all, this is what defines a pioneer; bungee jumping into uncharted territory, outside their comfort zone.

The biggest challenge by far is the complexity of the initiative and managing the collaboration between the multitude of stakeholders needed to make smart city initiatives a success.

There are three crucial building blocks to overcoming the main challenges of smart city implementation:

  1. Understanding technology and its potential impact
  2. Developing a visionary perspective of the ideal smart city
  3. Having the right governance and program management teams to execute this over time.  

Technology and its potential impact

Let’s start with technology which is what a smart city is all about. Technology plays a crucial role in the transformation of smart cities, with benefits that stand to be gained by all stakeholders. The role of technology can be dissected into seven key aspects:

  1. Manpower: Smart digital solutions can streamline efficiency and increase productivity with the same number of resources (eg. Smart waste management system, pothole reporting)
  2. Mobility: Autonomous public transport and edge computing traffic monitoring can create a safer commute experience and reduce traffic congestion.
  3. Machinery: Advanced data collection and self-diagnostics in smart equipment will only require predictive maintenance and experience fewer performance errors.
  4. Methodology: Enabling local council apps and citizen reporting of urban issues improves response time of city councils in tackling reports and service malfunctions.
  5. Market: Test bed for innovative technology will expand market reach globally and attract investors.
  6. Money: Smart service implementations (eg. Public wifi, charging stations) can create new business models and generate diverse revenue streams.
  7. Management: Faster data collection and data synthesis will allow for data driven decision-making and more transparent data.

Developing the vision

Smart city development cannot be done in an ad-hoc fashion. The various elements need to come together to form a uniform vision and serve a core purpose – to solve specific problems of the city’s residents and improve quality of life. The development of a smart city vision should embrace the following four principles:

1. A holistic approach

A smart city should aim to embrace technology across all aspects of the citizens lifestyle and tight integration of a range of services from transportation, health, education, etc built around citizen journeys.

 2. Citizen-centric drive

The citizens are the heart-beat of every city. A successful initiative involves building trust between the citizens and the governing body through citizen-centric decision and policy making as well as transparency of data and information. Providing citizens smart tools helps with the data collection effort. This helps mitigate the “black hole” problem, with information on any pressing issues reported by concerned citizens made readily available for authorities to address them at the earliest.

3. Synthesis of data

Through widespread data collection, smart cities can solve many problems quickly, made possible by insights from data. An iterative approach that enables constant problem solving is crucial for long-term success. Data insights can also help city managers and planners address the core issues that impact every citizen and minimize chances of recurrence. 

4. DNA of a smart city

Another concept that smart cities should internalise is the DNA of a smart city, namely, Devices, Networks, and Applications. A successful smart city harmonises the interaction between its devices used in daily operations, connected by a network that sustains it, and managed through the use of applications and software’s to ensure a seamless operation and function void of errors.

The execution

A successful smart city implementation cannot be achieved without the proper governance and management, support from stakeholders buying into the idea, and the feedback from the citizens living within. Vision and ideas are relatively simpler to define, the challenge is the execution.  The key success factors include:

  1. A disciplined project management office
  2. The right funding models
  3. Buy-in from all stakeholders
  4. Good governance.

While the task seems daunting, there are many global best practices we can follow. The technology has matured and the right funding models are coming into place. We need to act with a sense of urgency. As we embrace the new post-pandemic future, the time to act is now. Failing which we will have only compounded the many challenges for our already fast-growing cities.

Learn more on how Smart City contributes to our nation’s aspiration in becoming a Digital Malaysia.

“Kerana kemudahan tidak hanya untuk sebahagian kelompok, tetapi untuk semua”

"Because convenience is not for a few, but the masses"

Setiaji, Chief of Digital Transformation Office at Ministry of Health / Assistant of Minister for Health Technology, Indonesia

Half of the world's population are city dwellers, and with the breakneck speed of technological advancement, a government that fuels digital technologies stands to endure significant long-term economic benefits. Cities that are slow to embrace the digital race risk falling further behind the pack.

With an average density of 1,400 population per square kilometer, West Java is home to 50 million people across 27 regencies and 620 districts. While it is the most populous province in Indonesia, its human development index is lower than Indonesia's national average. Wide socioeconomical and digital gaps are spread within its 1,576 urban villages and 4,301 rural villages.

Pemerintah Jawa Barat or the West Java Provincial Government understands that to inch closer to the smart city pole position, its version of smart city needs to be inclusive of the rural areas. Faced with complex government bureaucracy, compounded with a lack of innovation in the government service, West Java Provincial Government initiated an in-house digital team — Jawa Barat Digital Service or Jabar Digital Service. Early in our journey, we saw that to build a smart city tailored to the West Java ecosystem, we needed to bring together best-in-class tech talent and institutional stability in one team. Jabar Digital Service, in essence, is a start-up under government purview with a massive scale to impact.

There are three anchor drivers that propelled West Java into becoming one of the region’s fastest smart city adopters: People. Process. Technology.

1. People – Fostering digital talent

For a city to become a leading smart city, the importance of talent is second to none. However, according to the World Bank, Indonesia will have a 9-million digital talent shortage by 2030 if initiatives are not taken to address this in the interim.   

To fill this potential gap, Jabar Digital Service launched its inaugural Candradimuka Jabar Coding Camp in 2021. This first batch of full-fledged coding camps received 11,730 applicants, with 844 being successful in their applications. Additionally, and more impressively, 18.9% of the 844 successful applicants are among the underprivileged, disabled or high school leavers. All graduates of the coding camp are now either absorbed in Jabar Digital Service,  assimilated into the Indonesian technology industry, or opted to become freelancers taking advantage of the budding gig economy. As a result, we now have more than 300 new additions to the digital workforce consisting of mainly young, exuberant talents mentored by senior government officials and private sector experts.

2. Process – Facilitating new business models, streamlining regulations and supporting interactive innovation

An advocate of the 'Right First, Fast Later' mantra, Jabar Digital service believes a deep and resilient process is the cornerstone of any smart city. There was a perception that regulations were a barrier to innovation. Hence, the first point to address was to fine-tune existing regulatory policies to foster regulator engagement in the innovation process.

At a broader level, to invigorate a culture of innovation at various levels and among diverse stakeholders, we took a 360° view and synergised the business process with governance and infrastructure to support this interactive innovation. All this, of course, needed to align with our budget and stretch every Rupiah.

3. Technology – A customer-centric product

Smart cities may have become one of the main agendas for governments worldwide, but there is still a substantially unmet need for the largely overlooked and underserved population.

As West Java comprises of primarily rural locations and with our citizens only being able to afford basic technical equipment, our smart city technology of choice needs to be brought down to the lowest common denominator to make it inclusive for everyone and reduce the digital divide.

At Jabar Digital Service, we believe the launching of a digital blueprint is not enough. The execution must be accessible for all stakeholders to be able to develop at a furious pace.

Here are some examples of our flagship products that have impacted the West Java society significantly.

The Jabar Command Centre is a data visualisation and monitoring centre which centralizes and integrates data from all operations and public services available to citizens of West Java.

Public Gathering Monitoring, Smart CCTV surveillance that feeds the command centre with information of an estimated number of mass gatherings, average density and peak hours. The collection, monitoring and analysis of information allows the government to monitor public protocols and coordinate for security measures whenever necessary.

Ekosistem Data Jabar (EDJ), EDJ is a data ecosystem which integrates data from four main sources (OpenData, SatuData, Satu Peta & Core Data). Information gathered from this integrated ecosystem generates ‘smart’ insights which, in turn, supports data-driven decision making. The use of public and open data has also heightened transparent leadership while encouraging public participation in the urban development of West Java.  

Sapawarga, the West Java government’s Superapp was launched in 2019 with 3 main purposes:

  1. Effective, widespread and efficient delivery of government information to citizens
  2. Encouraging citizen interaction and feedback to government bodies
  3. Enabling citizens to gain easier access to government programs and public services

Pikobar, A day after West Java declared a state of emergency due to the COVID19 pandemic, JDS launched the Pikobar website. The Pikobar app was released 16 days later. Since the launches, Pikobar has been releasing real-time data and enabling integrated COVID-19 related services via both app and website. The services include 32 features such as teleconsultation / telemedicine, multivitamin prescription, delivery and administration of oxygen and more.

Digital Villages Theme

The overall objective of the Digital Villages Theme is to overcome the digital divide in rural areas, by covering 3 major pillars:

  1. Providing basic digital infrastructure for rural residents to access the internet
  2. Increasing digital literacy and ensuring residents are capable of using the internet for communication and information access

There is one key trait driving the success of West Java’s smart city transformation: unity. From governments and local officials having a clear and aligned vision of a smart West Java, to an inclusive action plan that aims to elevate the lifestyles of all members of West Java’s society; the province is an undisputable example of the value of unity and cooperation of all stakeholders in making smart city transformation a success.

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