Jakarta governor’s jail sentence doesn’t affect Smart City program, says team

Jakarta is a sprawling city of almost 10 million inhabitants, famous for its frequent traffic gridlocks. Photo credit: Stefan Magdalinski.

Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty of blasphemy.

Political implications aside, what does this mean for Jakarta’s Smart City program? Ahok had championed an initiative within the city government to implement digital tools that improve processes and increase transparency. The Jakarta Smart City site was launched at the end of 2014, soon after he took office.

“Ahok has asked us government employees to serve as usual,” Setiaji, head of Jakarta Smart City’s technical unit, tells Tech in Asia today.

The most important component of the program is the app Qlue, which lets citizens report problems in their neighborhood directly to the administration. It includes a separate dashboard that helps city government officials coordinate and keep track of tasks. Over the years, Qlue has added features and implemented the software in more cities.

Screenshots from the app Qlue.

Until now, there have been no changes or budget cuts to the program, Setiaji says. What will happen once the new governor Anies Baswedan and his deputy are inaugurated isn’t decided yet. “From [what] I have read, they are committed to continue this program⁠⁠⁠⁠.”

Rama Raditya, founder and CEO of Qlue, agrees that the change in leadership isn’t negatively affecting the business. Qlue, though part of Jakarta Smart City, is a private business with its own funding.

By applying the concept to other cities, which has been a focus in the past month, “we are partly preaching [Ahok’s] vision,” Rama says.

Qlue has diversified and now offers versions of its software for enterprises (under the name Quack) and property developers (Qluster).