REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla has criticized the organizing committee of a national seminar "Strategy and Direction of Developing Smart City in Indonesia to Face the Challenges of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)" here on Tuesday.

"The smart city concept was discussed today. The theme is somewhat pessimistic. It reflects fear to face challenges," he noted during the seminar attended by several regional heads, lawmakers, academics, and businessmen.

The AEC is not a challenge but an opportunity, he emphasized, adding that the challenge had a negative connotation.

"It seems that the challenge we will face is a ghost," he stated as the audience applauded.

The vice president urged regional heads and bureaucrats to harbor the same thought process as businessmen who always viewed a hurdle as an opportunity, particularly with regard to the implementation of the AEC.

"How could we be afraid of Cambodia and Thailand? We have opportunities in the AEC. We can now sell goods to Malaysia without being caught. We can also send migrant workers freely, although they still have to follow the procedure," he affirmed.

Hence, the vice president called on the regional heads to benefit from the free market in the Southeast Asian region and encourage the advancements in information technology, particularly if they were keen to develop their regions based on the smart city concept.

"We cannot avoid technology. If some 400 people are attending this seminar, I think there will be 500 mobile phones here as some of them are carrying more than one phone. This means that we cannot leave our houses without technology," Kalla pointed out.

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