Indonesia Builds Silicon Valley, Indef Warns Not To Flood Foreign Workers

JAKARTA - Program Director of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Esther Sri Astuti, asked the government to carefully plan the development of a digital research and innovation center in Sukabumi, West Java, which is named Algorithm Hill like Silicon Valley in the United States. She warned not to end up employing more foreign workers.

"Don't let the Silicon Valley build, instead encourage the entry of more foreign workers. How Indonesian workers can take advantage of Silicon Valley in Sukabumi must be prepared later", she said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, April 15.

On the other hand, Eshter does not deny that foreign workers are more tech-savvy than domestic workers. Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), human resources (SDM) in Indonesia are only 12 percent highly educated. More than 80 percents are primary, junior high, and senior high school graduates.

Eshter explained that if the government wants to create a special economic zone in the field of advanced technology, competent human resources that are competitive and superior must be created. That way, this project does not have to employ foreign workers. This must be a race against the government.

In addition, said Esther, for Silicon Valley, the suitability of the competence of the workforce needed with the surrounding areas is not too strong. Not surprisingly, the engineers in Silicon Valley come from India and China, not the majority of the region.

"Many experts from China, for example, are more literate in high tech than Indonesia. This must be anticipated so that the development of Silicon Valley increases economic inequality", she said.

For your information, in Indonesia itself, a duplicate of Silicon Valley has indeed surfaced. Some of the locations that had been predicted to become Indonesia's Silicon Valley include Malang, Yogyakarta, BSD Serpong, and Batam.

Most recently, the Sukabumi Algorithm Hill appeared, which was developed by a state-owned construction company, PT Amarta Karya (Persero). This Indonesian-style Silicon Valley development is estimated to cost up to €1 billion or equivalent to IDR 18 trillion.

"This area will be one of the centers for the development of advanced innovation and technology, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, to solar panels for clean and environmentally friendly energy", said the President Director of PT Amarta Karya (Persero) Nikolas Agung.

888 hectares of land in Cikidang and Cibadak, Sukabumi were chosen as the location for Algorithm Hill. The initial development stage is estimated to take three years.

Algorithm Hill is expected to become a center for research and technology development, as well as a center for human resource development in the future. In particular the development of technology and industry 4.0.