Indonesia’s trade minister practically runs his ministry on WhatsApp

Thomas Lembong, the newly-appointed Indonesian trade minister, is a gadget head. He uses WhatsApp and loves his iPhone. But there’s a hidden dimension to this.

“I shared with the team at [WhatsApp owner] Facebook that I run my ministry on WhatsApp,” says Lembong, who spoke on stage at Tech in Asia Jakarta 2015. He recently made a trip to Silicon Valley to pitch Indonesia to big tech companies.

“They were stunned. I mentioned to them I appreciate end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp. I said the same thing at Apple,” he adds. End-to-end encryption scrambles messages sent over the internet, preventing them from being intercepted by hackers.

“Being a reformist can get a bit intimidating. You’re targeting vested interests. You’re going against mafias. A lot of our industries suffer from oligopoly and cartel-like behavior. These people do strike back.”

Performance issues

Lembong, a former banker and private equity executive, is working with Indonesia’s new reformist president Joko Widodo (popularly called “Jokowi”) to bolster the economy and bring investments into the country.

Barely a year into his team’s stint, it’s facing immense pressure to perform. Approval ratings have slid below 50 percent. The Indonesian economy is sluggish as the Rupiah sank.

Some question his commitment towards opening up the economy, citing how tariffs have gone up under his watch.

A businessman with no political or military connections, Jokowi represents an atypical break from the past, although he faces stark realities. He has to deal with a strident parliamentary opposition, which largely remains loyal to his defeated electoral opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto. Policies he enacted will require time to take shape, given the massive red tape involved.

Defending Jokowi to an expectant audience, Lembong urges for patience with his persuasive, low-key charm. He speaks in a hushed tone – as if conversing with a friend at a cafe rather than a crowd at a political rally.

He brings up the reforms that are already being carried out by the Jokowi administration, emphasizing that it’ll take three or four years to see meaningful change.

The government is tweaking 89 regulations to make it simpler to do business in the country.

It’s aiming to reverse laws that require internet companies to have servers in the country, as well as prevent foreign investment into ecommerce companies.

More recently, Jokowi announced Indonesia would join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement that aims to increase trade among member countries.

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