Indonesia misses national smart ID cards deadline

The Indonesian government is behind a deadline to distribute electronic ID cards to residents.

The government was meant to have completed recording citizens’ data and giving out the e-KTP cards this month, but the deadline has now been extended to mid-2017, according to the Jakarta Globe.

The card has a chip to electronically store citizens’ personal information, including their fingerprints. It is used to issue passports, driving licence, tax numbers, insurance, land rights, and other identification documents.

The project was launched in 2011, but 22 million people have not yet registered their data with the government for the cards, according to ministry figures.

“There are still many citizens who have yet to record [their data for] e-KTP,” Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said. Vice President Jusuf Kalla last week said that the distribution of cards had been delayed due to corruption.

"There are unpaid debts, although the government's budget has almost reached IDR 6 trillion (US$453 million),” he said.

State losses from the project amount to IDR 1.12 trillion (US$84 million), according to Corruption Eradication Commission spokesperson Johan Budi.

A former director of citizenship information is being investigated by the body. Some city governments have complained that they do not have enough cards for its population, while others have too many.

For instance, out of 1.2 million residents in Semerang, 20,00 have not yet received their cards, and another 69,000 have not even registered their data with the government.

"The ministry has only given 8,000 ID cards. We still need at least 89,000 e-KTP [cards]," the Mayor of Semarang, Hendrar Prihadi said.

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