"I want that first things first, in the Communication and Informatics Ministry, for the Base Transceiver System tower (project) to be prioritized. For the legal proceedings, it may continue, and we respect it, but the BTS project progress must also go on," the head of state noted after swearing into office some ministers, deputy ministers, and members of the Presidential Advisory Council here on Monday.
Progress in the BTS towers' project everywhere, particularly in remote and border areas, is crucial in facilitating access to communication and digitalization for everyone, he stressed. Hence, the project should not be abandoned, Jokowi emphasized.
"(The ongoing) legal proceedings (make the) BTS project abandoned, (and) this is not what I want. That is where the difficulty lies," he affirmed.
The president also urged Minister Setiadi to push Indonesia forward, so it would not lag behind in terms of the rapid development in informatics and technology. To aid the minister's duties, the president assigned the seat of Deputy Minister for Communication and Informatics to Nezar Patria.
Patria was a journalist turned member of the State-Owned Enterprises' board of directors.
"(This is) so that things pertaining to data sovereignty, pertaining to artificial intelligence (AI), pertaining to frequency, to satellite, everything can be completed and finished. Moreover, we will help by forming a task force since (we only) have limited time," the president remarked.
He said that the two new officials have limited time to pursue the strategic programs and policies. Setiadi, Patria, and everyone in the ministry only have less than a year and a half to get the required tasks completed before the cabinet's term ends, Jokowi pointed out.
He highlighted the need to create a relevant task force to aid in progress of the ministry's projects.
"(Regarding the task force), it will be discussed with Mr Minister and Mr Deputy Minister because this is not an easy matter," he concluded.
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Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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