O

nce dubbed Jakarta’s baby step into public-service automation, an online complaint-reporting system has been dysfunctional for months, with residents’ pleas for pot hole or sidewalk repairs going unattended.

The complaint-handling app Qlue has been slow to respond ever since Governor Anies Baswedan took office in October, from an average of eight hours in late 2016 to 72 hours late last year, resulting in a declining number of complaints.

The number of complaints stood at 12,405 in November, a significant decrease compared to 36,058 complaints the previous November.

In December 2016, the city recorded 28,901 complaints, in stark contrast to the 10,759 reported in December last year.

Sudirman, head of Community Unit No. 12 (RW 12) in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, said he no longer submitted complaints via the app since his community had stopped looking for help from the administration via the app.

“The administration is slow to respond to our complaints now. I think that is the reason why they stop submitting complaints via the app,” Sudirman said, adding that subdistrict officers in the area used to be fast and responsive in handling various complaints about public services, such as damaged public facilities and illegal levies.

Qlue is part of the Jakarta administration’s Smart City Program, which was launched in December 2014 by then governor Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama, in an effort to establish a technology-based service for city
residents.

During the launch, the administration introduced the Jakarta Smart City Website, smartcity.jakarta.go.id, as well as Qlue for residents and the Jakarta Fast Response to Public Opinion (CROP) for civil servants and officials to handle residents’ complaints.

Information on both Qlue and CROP is displayed and updated real-time on smartcity.jakarta.go.id. The website also has information on the locations of schools, community health centers, filling stations, hospitals and restaurants.

The website is also integrated with hundreds of existing CCTVs to monitor the city. Recently the administration used the CCTV to monitor traffic conditions along Jl. Jatibaru Raya near Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta. The CCTVs are also used to monitor flooding across the capital.

A recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit described Jakarta as promising soil for digital startups and e-commerce, saying that policies made by local administrations in Jakarta and cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Bangalore were more influential than those at national level.

This view, however, has not been echoed by local startup entrepreneurs, who say city-level policies on things like business-licensing periods, as well as other central government initiatives are badly needed.

Reform of the business-licensing process has been part of a nationwide program of a one-stop service for companies and investors launching their ventures in the country.

With the setback in the Smart City program, residents have less access to the administration, raising concerns that public services will deteriorate.

Saudi, the head of RW 4 in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, said the complaint pattern had changed since the change of leadership, with people now encouraged to submit their complaints to the 44 district offices across the city every Saturday. The new system was applied on Nov. 18, a month after Anies took office.

“Now, all Tanah Abang residents are directed to convey their problems to Tanah Abang district office rather than the Qlue app,” Saudi told The Jakarta Post.

Public policy expert Agus Pambagio said the poor handling of the Smart City program would lead to a decline in the relationship between residents and administration officials.

“People need to be heard. As long as their complaints are responded to, whatever about being resolved, they are happy,” he said.