In its endeavor to gain smart city status by 2021, the South Tangerang administration has recently admitted that the toughest part of the job is getting people to work together to realize the plan.

South Tangerang Mayor Airin Rachmi Diany highlighted security as one example. The city had installed several CCTV cameras throughout the city to monitor areas deemed prone to crime.

However, some cameras in Taman Kota 2 BSD have since been stolen. This indicated,  Airin said, that the city's implementation of technology had not gone hand in hand with people’s awareness.

“We installed security cameras in Taman Kota to monitor crimes. But then the cameras were stolen,” she said as quoted in kompas.com.

“In Beijing, such cameras are useful to help trace missing persons. Here, it’s the cameras that are missing and we have no idea who did it,” she added.

Airin’s deputy Benyamin Davnie echoed these sentiments, saying that people needed to adapt to the technology installed as part of the smart city program.

“It’s a cultural problem. The city could try to keep up with technology, funds could be allocated, but the people’s attitudes need to be changed. We should develop a new culture in which everything is based on information technology,” he explained.

Aside from security cameras, the city has also made applications for several integrated working units to improve people's access to the city's services. One of the applications is the Report and Task System Application (SIARAN). (vla)