What did Indonesia’s tech ministry achieve this year?

Indonesia’s information and communications technology minister Rudiantara.

At the Tech in Asia Jakarta 2015 conference last month, I bumped into Indonesia’s tech minister Rudiantara perusing startup booths on Bootstrap Alley. I invited him to come on stage for an improvised fireside chat. The minister declined, saying he was only there to look around. “Fair enough,” I responded, as we did have him on stage the year before, shortly after he stepped into the job.

The minister likely knew he would have more difficult questions to answer this year.

Minister Rudiantara is at the center of an emerging market tech boom like few have ever witnessed. Indonesia is undoubtedly the largest and most important economy in Southeast Asia. With a bona fide tech fever, the nation is fast becoming a destination for entrepreneurs and tech investors from around the globe.

Experts argue the market’s nascent developmental stage requires close cooperation between stakeholders and politicians. Rudiantara has positioned himself as a somewhat accessible person, showing up at events like Twitter’s office inauguration in Jakarta and at Shinta Dhanuwardoyo’s IDbyte tech gatherings.

But what has his ministry achieved this year? Does Rudiantara really have power to make a difference? Naturally, it would be unfair to judge the current ministry before Rudiantara’s tenure is complete. That said, the minister has made several claims that warrant further scrutiny now that the year is coming to an end.

Here are five issues that Rudiantara has yet to address fully.

1. Where’s that billion dollar fund for tech startups?

In February, Rudiantara said he aimed to raise about US$1 billion to help develop Indonesia’s digital startups. He claimed the funds would be collected from the nation’s large conglomerates, saying big businesses should not deposit their money in foreign banks but instead invest in local companies.

Photo Credit: 401(K) 2012

“I’ve already approached some conglomerates, but there will be more information to come on that later,” the minister said earlier, adding that he hoped to raise all the funds some time this year and had already received several “pledges” from major local players. The money would be fed into an independent VC fund, not controlled by the government.

While Indonesia’s rich families have indeed begun looking for ways to invest in the nation’s tech space, we’ve heard next to nothing further of the minister’s initiative to raise this amount of capital. CNN Indonesia says the plan stagnated.

See: Here’s how 10 of Indonesia’s richest families invest in tech startups

2. An ecommerce roadmap that’s been in the oven far too long

The legal framework for ecommerce in Indonesia has been a big topic of debate this year. It’s also been a slow and painful process. Last week, the government finally said it would remove ecommerce from the nation’s Negative Investments List, adding that foreigners may soon be able to purchase up to a 33 percent stake in local online retail businesses.

3. Vimeo, Reddit, and Imgur are still blocked

4. Smartphone manufacturing law

5. People can still get thrown in jail for stuff they say on Twitter

But some things went right…