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Regulations should not hamper innovative businesses: Experts
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A Go-Jek motorcycle taxi driver drives around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Friday. On Thursday the Transportation Ministry banned ride-hailing applications from operating in Indonesia, claiming they violated the law on land transportation. However, a day later Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan revoked the ban following a public outcry. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
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egulations introduced by the government should not hamper the development of innovative businesses, such as the emergence of application-based public transportation like Uber cars and Go-Jek motorcycle taxis, experts and businesspeople say.
"It's important not to make regulations be the kinds of things that put restrictions and impose certain conduct and behavior on society," the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) economics department head, Yose Rizal Damuri, said at a discussion held by CSIS in Central Jakarta.
It was crucial for regulations and public policy to enhance innovation and make it more adaptive and flexible, he said. Citing the example of Telkom's move to block Netflix in Indonesia, Yose said it was a case where policies could be more accommodative.
"Basically, that's the principle — to regulate means also to limit. And that always leads to limiting innovation," he said.
Therefore, regulations and public policy should not be designed in a very strict manner, Yose continued, but rather to fulfill certain criteria supporting public welfare and also efficiency.
He said the sustainability of new digital business models was still unknown, adding that it was understandable if the government was hesitant in shaping new policies. However, he stressed that the government should embrace and accommodate innovation rather than abandoning it altogether.
Meanwhile, Uber communications and public policy director Betsy Masiello, who is currently visiting Jakarta and attended the discussion, said innovations like Uber were growing in Indonesia as an alternative to private vehicles and in an attempt to reduce road congestion.
"Dealing with some mobility challenges will position Indonesia to be a leader in transforming mobility in an urban setting," Masiello told thejakartapost.com.
Meanwhile, Uber’s director of public policy in Southeast and North Asia, Emilie Potvin, said the country had enormous potential for the company, which has expanded to four cities, namely Jakarta, Bali, Bandung and Surabaya.
"The number of riders goes up every week; the number of drivers goes up as well," Potvin said.
In Jakarta specifically, Potvin said Uber's innovations such as UberPool, which enables several riders to car-share, could tie in with Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama's commitment to improving public transportation in a bid to reduce congestion.
"We could really be a strong partner for the governor and the city team here in Jakarta and also in other areas in which we are implementing," she added. (bbn)
