Sumedang Regent Dony Ahmad Munir presented the regency's achievements, challenges, and future direction for Smart City development during the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) Annual Meeting 2026, held at Rempeg Jagapati Hall, Banyuwangi Regent's Office, on Monday (July 20).

Speaking before regional leaders and Smart City stakeholders from across ASEAN, Dony explained that Sumedang has proposed three flagship Smart City development projects.

One project has already been completed: reducing the prevalence of stunting through e-Simpati (Integrated Stunting Prevention Information System), a digital platform designed to improve maternal and child health services.

According to Dony, e-Simpati has become an integral part of public services for pregnant women, toddlers, and adolescent girls, and has been fully integrated into the local government's administrative practices.

"Digitalization is not merely about introducing technology—it is about using technology to solve real problems faced by the community. e-Simpati demonstrates that digital transformation can improve the quality of healthcare services while reducing stunting rates," he said.

The two ongoing initiatives are the Jatinangor City of Digital Knowledge and the Village e-Office Super App. In addition, the regional government is preparing the Sumedang Green Smart Industrial Park project in the Butom area, covering the districts of Wado, Cibugel, and Tomo.

Regarding the Jatinangor City of Digital Knowledge, Dony highlighted Jatinangor's significant potential as an education and economic hub, given its status as home to six leading higher education institutions and its strategic location adjacent to Bandung City.

Several milestones have already been achieved, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian Telecommunications Providers Association (APJATEL) to improve telecommunications infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) training for 1,000 village officials in collaboration with the ASEAN Foundation and Padjadjaran University, the preparation of regulatory frameworks for the proposed Jatinangor Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and the development of a smart village ecosystem.

Despite this progress, Dony acknowledged several ongoing challenges, including limited authority at the local government level, restricted market access for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and resistance to change.

"Therefore, we are opening opportunities for collaboration with various stakeholders to strengthen supply chains, support MSMEs, accelerate financing, and improve digital literacy among the public," he said.

Meanwhile, the Village e-Office Super App is being developed as an integrated digital ecosystem that connects data and public services from the village level to the regional government, enabling faster, simpler, and more integrated public service delivery.

One of its flagship initiatives is Desa Cantik (Love Statistics Village), implemented in collaboration with Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and higher education institutions to update community welfare data, ensuring that social assistance is distributed more accurately and effectively.

In addition, the Uninhabitable Housing (Rutilahu) program utilizes spatial data to identify eligible beneficiaries, with a target of assisting 5,160 homes.

Dony noted that the project still faces challenges, including limited awareness of the importance of data management at the village level and the geographical complexity of providing services to Sumedang's population of approximately 1.2 million people. Looking ahead, the Sumedang Regency Government plans to adopt digital twin technology to support regional planning, infrastructure monitoring, and disaster mitigation.

"We recognize that building a Smart City cannot be achieved alone. Collaboration is the key to success. Therefore, we invite all development partners to work together in creating a smarter, more sustainable Sumedang that delivers tangible benefits for the community," Dony concluded.

[SOURCE]