Information technology advances so rapidly makes the world seem smaller ball and space is seeming to be no longer. The perception of the world was already changing.
Information technology in a change in the way it has been spearheading various other perceived changes humans on this earth. However, what kind of changes are made and the direction in which the change is running? Who benefits and who is harmed?
Globalization: Process Fair?
Globalization is one word that probably the most talked about for the last five years with a diverse understanding of the meaning. However, what is understood by the term globalization ultimately bring awareness to people, that all inhabitants of this planet are interrelated and can not be separated from each other for granted despite the physical distance range stretches. The world is seen as a unity in which all human beings on this earth are connected to each other in a web of vast importance.
Talks about talks on the topic of globalization is vast surrounding the fundamental aspects of human life from the cultural, political, economic and social. Globalization of the economy may now be a frame of reference and at the same time the most current example clearly illustrates how a global policy could have an impact on many people at the local level, while the globalization discourse in other respects, may not be so easily observed clearly.
Examples that could be possible is international trade, international monetary fund policies to permit operation of multi-national companies showing that eye-chain-effect will eventually end up on the local economic actors, both positive and negative. The design of economic globalization itself, for example, was initially assessed the positive faith of raising the financial performance of the countries are considered economically underdeveloped cooperation with trade and industrial policy.
However, the negative impact was not inevitable when global policy adjustments that can not be done at the local level. Win-win situation to be achieved turned into a win-lose situation inevitable for local economic actors. Cases such phenomenal that never ended, sales of oil palm plantations by the government recently, or other cases that barely covered extensively as the loss of millions of plasma nuftah in the woods and West Papua, shows it clearly. Of course there are many others.
So, do not be surprised if later most felt that the issue of globalization blowing towards the negative, namely that globalization benefits only those who had already economically powerful and have the infrastructure to sustain its economic dominance, while backward country just felt the positive effects of globalization are artificial, but fact remains abandoned. Some others remain optimistic with the essential ideals of globalization and believes that good human being equal on this earth will be realized sometime in the future with efforts to build unity as fellow residents-world football.
It seems that, whatever the essence of the debate, which is in plain sight is the passage of the process of globalization in almost every field without stopping.
Information Technology (IT)
Information Technology (IT) is now developing very rapidly, no doubt make a significant contribution to the whole process of globalization. Starting from TI rides the simplest form of the radio and television and the Internet and of mobile phones with wireless application protocol (WAP), information flows very quickly and pushed a lot of people living consciousness.
Change the information is no longer present in the scale of weeks or days or even hours, but already in the scale of minutes and seconds. Changes in stock prices a pharmaceutical company in Jakarta Stock Exchange only takes less than a tenth of a second to be known in Surabaya. Dollar exchange rate index specified in Wall Street, USA, in less than a minute was confirmed by Bank Indonesia in Medan Merdeka. Similarly, a fashion show in Paris, which at almost the same time can be seen from Gorontalo, Sulawesi.
IT has changed the face of conventional economics are slow and rely on the interaction of physical resources locally to the fast-paced digital economy and rely on the interaction of global information resources. The role of the Internet is undeniable in terms of providing global information so that a certain degree, IT generalized to the Internet. Internet itself is phenomenal emergence as one of the marker poles advancement in information technology and communications. Internet eliminates all physical boundaries that separate people and integrate them into the new world, the world of "virtual". Equivalent to the development of computer hardware, especially the micro-processor, and communications infrastructure, IT in developing internet speed is difficult to imagine.
The concept of electronic commerce over the Internet, known as e-commerce is born of marriage of IT to economic globalization not yet reached the age of five known-from the fact that there are already about 20 years ago-when it had to give up her broken on the conception of e -Business is more sophisticated. If the e-Commerce "only" allows a person to transact the sale and purchase via the internet and make payment by credit card on-line, or allowing a housewife-ice program the closet for an order of juice automatically if the stock is stored in the refrigerator was gone and paying household bills through the bank sent instructions by pressing a few buttons on his cell phone, then by e-Business, import export transactions between countries complete with opening of LC and model mortgage payment can also be done with the rides and the media alike.
Therefore, reasonable if the governments of the countries of Asia, countries considered less developed, are now beginning to formally support the development of IT in a long while silent-confused not knowing what to do with the rapid development of this technology. For Asia, which is currently working hard to catch up with developed countries and at the same time the social and political changes, the presence of the internet in particular is a complicated issue. Even worse, the economic crisis experienced by Asia in the late 90s when delaying the development of IT in the U.S. and European countries in the use of emerging technology.
Meeting of the Asian Regional Conference of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) in Manila in July 2000 produced a plan to build a communications network, providing the access of information from the internet to the public, organizing framework of IT use, build online-governmental networks, and develop education for improve the competitiveness of Asia. But there are still obstacles, notably including limited resources, still rigid system of governance, and socio-political differences between the countries must now work together to overcome-that if it fails, will stay put Asia on the losers. One of the actions to be taken by Asian governments agreed at the meeting that GIIC is preparing laws regarding the transaction, internet crime, trademarks, copyright and other issues.
What about Indonesia? According to Tabloid Cash On-line dated October 9, 2000, citing IDC (Information Data Corporation), the funds are spent for the benefit of IT in Indonesia is quite large. In 2000 is estimated at U.S. $ 772.9 million, up from U.S. $ 638.4 million last year. This amount does not include the dotcom investment was passionate torch-blarak in the last two years. From U.S. $ 772.9 million, the majority (57.7%) spent on hardware such as PCs and notebooks. Most of the others (14.4%) spent on software. Supposedly, the rate for this software is much greater than for hardware. This is allegedly due in Indonesia piracy rate is still above 90%. While of the 17 sectors had to spend money on IT, the most much spending money is a communication & media (19.3%), followed by a discreet manufacturing (16.9%), government (12.4%), and banking ( 11.8%).
IT Promote Social Change?
As of June 1999, according to the source of Cash On-line, of the entire population of Indonesia, amounting to 220 million, the number of personal computers in the country is only about 2 million units. That means only 0.95% of the population. This number is still very small if used as the basis of IT utopian conception capable of promoting social change.
However, such a small figures reinforced with IT, especially the use of the Internet, could reasonably pose a dilemma for the government, more specifically the countries that have strict regulations. In the New Order era first, TI addressed with full of confusion, such as in the case of a raid one Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Jakarta as "Kudatuli"-riot twenty-seventh of July's scandalous. This case exposes like IT progress by means of war and power. And as usual, a weapon more powerful than technology.
However, the power of IT is pressed it then appeared "arrogant" in the fall of the New Order episode. That said, it is believed that the student movement and logistical assistance coordinated by leveraging IT sophistication. In fact, military communications were intercepted and decoded by all the military code of activists and shared through pager, mobile phone and email in the field coordinator for the anticipate sweeping military blockade of Jakarta and other cities at that time, 1998 and 1999. IT, directly or indirectly, contribute to the occurrence of a significant social change in Indonesia, namely the fall of militaristic regime in power 32 years.
But, somewhere along the fault, the new government elected democratically relative post New Order regime also responded to the advancement of IT stutter. Presidential Decree 96/2000 which outlines banning entry of foreign investors in the multimedia industry in Indonesia, shows clearly the confusion of government in responding to the development of multimedia business, which of course is in the mainstream of IT. By Presidential Decree, the implied inferiority remarkable about the government. The Government considers that the protection was not possible given the assumption of local players to compete with foreign investors in the IT world.
In fact, just a lot of local players who yell and against this presidential decree. The only local player who looks most diligent support of the issuance of the presidential decree was PT. Telkom. This confusion is also evident in the formulation of the Telecommunications Act and its accompanying Regulation. Government Regulation No. 52/2000, for example, if someone wants to set up internet cafes, to take the cafe construction permit, must request permission signed by a minister (!). Clearly, the current government policies cause more problems that arise in the development of IT.
In political terms, the increasing tribalism today may be considered related to the advancement of IT as clarify a lot of things so that everyone can know what happened anywhere, which in the past was not seen-but instead of none. Democracy swept the world and the world to implement democracy through global telecommunications system. With the increasing amount of information received by the public, the government should begin to turn towards a system where rules and laws are based not on the will of the government, but on the legitimacy of the public.
The concept of the Unitary example, if viewed from the eyes of IT and globalization paradoxically could become extinct due to effective state actually split itself into smaller and more efficient. Kenichi Ohmae in his terkenenal The End of the Nation State, saw clearly that the idea of "government is the most important part of a government" it was time left. World in the eyes of the world of IT today is about private individuals, not the state (state). The world today, according to the originator of the idea of "The Third Way" Anthony Giddens structuration theory modernist, was metamorphosed into self-management of self-government.
IT Utilization Strategy Options
Modern IT enables a remarkable collaboration between the community, the economy and state actors. A paradox: as the global economy continues to expand, the countries taking part will become smaller. Without IT, the information does not exist, and no information then all activity stops.
Globalization, in terms of information and views from the IT glasses, clearly is a necessity. There was no way to back out of it. According to Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics in 1998, the technology must be impartial and serve the people. So what should be done in the context of the development of IT and globalization is to rebuild the alignment of IT with the strategy to defend those who have been abandoned and neglected in the globalization process.
How to start? First, from a local, by providing the opportunity for a little. With a population of 2.1 million units of "hardiness"-has been tested in an economic crisis-the small businesses, medium enterprises and cooperatives are the main targets that should be encouraged and empowered to utilize IT for electronic trade because of limited capital, human resources and expertise.
Second, the presence of hardware or software infrastructure. In this case, the government must have a clear vision. Once the concept of Nusantara Indonesia has had 21, which is already opened in late 1996. This concept should be recognized emulate Singapore One concept, and also Malaysia Supercoridor. Implementation was at that time already, with many wasantara.net appearance, the result of collaboration between PT Telkom and PT Pos and the emergence of many ISPs. But the concept of Nusantara 21 stalled and distracted by political and economic crisis. Now, this concept could be continued because the embryo has appeared in public in the form of ISP, internet and others. Maybe this will be easier because the first Nusantara 21 was a project under which the ivory tower is empty. Well, now living his government. Is there a vision to get there?
