Jakarta, 16 July - At least 7 out 10 Indonesians surveyed give a thumbs up to the national complaint handling system in Indonesia, SP4N-LAPOR! but more women’s participation in the survey is needed to strengthen gender equality dimension of the application, according to the latest citizen satisfaction survey commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

At least 89 percent of the respondents said that they will continue to use SP4N-LAPOR! to submit their complaints. The nationwide 2020 survey involved 1,329 respondents in Indonesia’s 34 provinces. The satisfaction rate of 75.7 percent is higher than the previous survey in 2019, which was at 72 percent.  Women made up only 19.8 percent of the respondents.

The survey result was shared during a recent UNDP webinar, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Indonesia’s Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (KemenPAN-RB). Approximately 600 people from the national and sub-national governments, academia, universities and civil society organizations joined the webinar. 

KemenPAN-RB’s Deputy for public services, Ms. Diah Natalisa encouraged both national and sub-national government to take action to improve SP4N-LAPOR! to ensure equal access for women.

“We are aware that the number of women participants in the survey is still low and should be addressed to improve SP4N-LAPOR! in the future,” she said adding “We will also enhance accuracy in appointing relevant institutions handling complaints, as well as the speed of handling complaints,”

Deputy Country Director of KOICA Indonesia Office, Ms. Song Joo Kim, on behalf of Mr. Hoe Jin Jeong, Country Director of KOICA Indonesia Office said the survey results could help improving SP4N-LAPOR! Performance.

 “SP4N LAPOR! citizen satisfaction survey becomes an essential tool to gather public opinion and to collect the input while the research result helps us to better understand the needs and perception about SP4N-LAPOR! system, SP4N-LAPOR! governance and SP4N-LAPOR! service,” she said. 

Speaking on behalf of UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Ms. Sophie Kemkhadze, UNDP’s Head of Democratic Governance and Poverty Reduction Unit Mr. Siprianus Bate Soro, highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement.

“Experience around the world confirms that an efficient and accountable bureaucracy is vital to eradicating poverty and inequality. The results of the survey and the recommendations will help the government take an inclusive approach to develop a user-friendly system and work towards increasing citizen satisfaction with the national complaint handling system,” he said. 

Ms. Meuthia G. Rochman, a Sociologist and Lecturer from the University of Indonesia said closer engagement with grassroot women’s organizations is key to encourage more women coming forward with their feedback on the quality of public services, through SPAN-LAPOR!

“Women should feel comfortable to talk about social issues, and that will make it easier for them to submit complaints,” she said.

At the end of the discussion, the audience was encouraged to be more active on the SP4N-LAPOR! platform to submit feedback or any complaints, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform is available online via its website www.lapor.go.id/ and through the mobile app. 

The citizen satisfaction survey was carried out by PT Prima Kelola IPB.

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Written by Suyoung Hwang, Marketing & Communication Officer at UNDP Indonesia and Muhammad Iqbal, Monitoring and Reporting Officer at UNDP Indonesia

Edited by Tomi Soetjipto and Ranjit Jose