W

ith little sign of the problems plaguing Jakarta easing, the city administration is looking to sift the best ideas from residents on how to improve things.

As part of efforts to achieve good governance and engage public participation in developing the capital, the administration has formed an online service where residents can provide input.

Through musrenbang.Jakarta.go.id, all input and suggestions related to the development needs are gathered and uploaded by local community (RW) heads. The system provides a template, including on how much an idea costs to implement, which residents can use when submitting a proposal.

The scheme is an online development from the Regional Development Planning Forum (Musrenbang). The regular forum is held annually at over 2,700 community units, across the city, from the end of January until the second week of February.

The gatherings allow residents to propose many things, ranging from the construction of an overpass to the installation of lighting around their area. Pictures and locations must be provided in support of the proposals.

A subdistrict head has the authority to validate the input and officials from each district will then verify the proposal, whether it is urgent or feasible. If approved, officials from the city’s Development Planning Board (Bappeda) will finalize the proposal and decide whether the project can be included in the next year’s program or of the year after, depending on urgency.

“This is related to long-term plans. If [the suggestion] is a report about road damage, or anything that can be fixed by public maintenance officers, it’s better to submit it via Qlue,” Andhika Ajie, Bappeda’s planning division head said over the weekend.

Given that many Jakartans are preoccupied with their jobs and family life, or simply unaware of the forum, residents who miss the gathering can still propose their idea via the website, through the direct proposal section. A full name and ID card number are required to log into the system.

“After submitting a proposal, the system will generate a unique code, which can be used by the user to track the progress of their proposal,” Ajie said.

The e-musrenbang scheme, which was first developed in 2015, began to be applied in 2016, during the administration of former governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, as he was then known. At that time Ahok said it was created to stymie the inclusion of dubious or unnecessary funding allocations

Ahok said some councilors used the Musrenbang meetings as a way to justify the input of dubious allocations into the city budget.

However, three years after the implementation, Ajie conceded that many RW heads and even sub district heads were struggling to understand the concept.

The city aim to change it and starting this year teams tasked with assisting the process have been deployed to ensure a smoother process.

Throughout 2018, 36,986 proposals were submitted by RW heads with a budget totalling Rp 9.58 trillion (US$679.58 million) for various development proposals. After being verified at the district level, the number decreased to 34,942 proposal with a total budget of Rp 8.36 trillion. However, no data has been provided on which projects were approved for a follow up by the city administration.

Many residents are still unaware of the platform or simply do not consider it important, said Yudi Nugroho, from Ciracas subdistrict in East Jakarta.

“I myself submitted an individual proposal driven by my curiosity. If I didn’t actively browse the internet I wouldn’t have known that such a platform existed,” he said.

Yudi had proposed the installation of lighting around his neighborhood.

His job as an administrator at a construction firm in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, allows him to be in front of a monitor all day. “I don’t think other people have that opportunity,” he said,