REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to assist the Indonesian government to broaden internet access for the people across the nation.
"I cannot wait to cooperate with the Indonesian government to broaden internet access in this country, so that it can help the people to connect using the internet," Zuckerberg stated after visiting Jakarta's City Hall on Monday.
Zuckerberg pointed out that by broadening internet access, every individual would not only be able to easily communicate with each other but also with the state leaders.
"The access to internet is a basic tool to communicate with others. Besides that, through the internet, we intend to improve communication between the people and their leaders," he emphasized.
Zuckerberg had met Jakarta's Governor, also the President-elect, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, on Monday and had discussed various issues related to the use of social media in Indonesia.
According to Jokowi, the discussion about broadening internet access for the people was part of the initial agenda of the meeting, but it would soon be followed up with Facebook.
"During the discussion, we (Jokowi and Zuckerberg) did not yet deeply discuss about the internet access broadening plan, but we will soon follow it up with Facebook," he remarked.
Currently, there are 70 million Facebook users in Indonesia, and Jokowi believes that this figure can potentially increase. Jokowi and Zuckerberg also discussed about the future uses of Facebook, including promoting and developing the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia.
"He (Zuckerberg) has agreed to help us," Jokowi noted.
During the visit to Jakarta, Jokowi also gave Zuckerberg a tour of the Tanah Abang wholesale market to offer him a glimpse of the SMEs activities in Indonesia.
Before visiting the capital city, Jakarta, on Sunday (Oct. 12), Zuckerberg also visited the Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, and some cultural heritage sites in the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
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