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Jokowi launches first portal for Indonesians abroad

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo approved on Monday a birth certificate for an Indonesian baby born abroad through the country’s first online information system for protection and services, or Portal Peduli WNI

Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, September 12, 2018

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Jokowi launches first portal for Indonesians abroad

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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo approved on Monday a birth certificate for an Indonesian baby born abroad through the country’s first online information system for protection and services, or Portal Peduli WNI.

The first birth certificate was applied for online by Daya, a student of Kyungsun University in Busan, South Korea, who recently had his first child, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

As Busan is 325 kilometers from Seoul, the city where Indonesians based in Korea must go if they want to apply in person, Daya opted to apply online. He got a video call from Jokowi three days later in which the President asked whether he wanted to receive the birth certificate for his son.

“I have approved your application. Do you want it?”

Jokowi then told Daya to check his email to access a QR code for the birth certificate. After scanning the code, Daya was able to access and print it.

“That is cool. I did not need to go far to Seoul to apply for a birth certificate. Thank you, Pak President,” Daya said.

Jokowi launched Portal Peduli WNI at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul on the sidelines of his visit to South Korea.

“This is a system we developed to provide better services and protection,” Jokowi said.

The portal, which the ministry started building in 2015, allows Indonesians to apply for civil registry documents abroad.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who accompanied Jokowi to Korea, said the online system would be fully implemented by all Indonesian missions starting in January 2019 after being tested at the embassy in Seoul.

“After almost three years of development, we will finally have one standardized service [...] and one Indonesian citizen database,” Retno said in the statement.

“The system and data are fully integrated with other relevant national data. Indonesian citizens can get services online or by coming to our diplomatic missions.”

Seoul was selected as the trial location because South Korea hosts some 40,000 Indonesians, mostly migrant workers.

However, only around 2,500 Indonesians registered with the system since testing began in July. Registration is required to access its digital services.

“The Indonesian Embassy in Seoul is also considered to be one of the missions that is best prepared to implement the system,” the statement says.

“At the same time, it is one of the Foreign Ministry’s data center locations.”

Also accompanying Jokowi were Indonesian Ambassador to Seoul Umar Hadi and Home Ministry population and civil registration director general Zudan Arif Fakrulloh.

With the portal, all Indonesian diplomatic missions have a standardized service that stores and integrates data of all Indonesian citizens abroad, the statement says.

The system is fully integrated with national data and service systems, such as those from the Home Ministry, the Law and Human Rights Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI).

Using data from the system, the government will be able to find accurate and real-time statistics and profiles of Indonesians abroad.

This system will be continuously developed to provide easier, faster and cheaper services for Indonesian citizens abroad.

“Moreover, the system will also help in collecting voter data abroad for the 2019 presidential election in an easier and more accurate way,” the statement says.

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