Indonesia's Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto, has said it is possible for Grab to be listed as a political party in Indonesia.

What's more, should Grab do so, he will welcome being its partner, he added, to the amusement and applause of the crowd in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sep. 24 at Grab's "Grab for Good" event.

Indonesian minister praises Grab with quip

Airlangga quipped: "If Grab wants to be listed as a political party in Indonesia, I think it's possible and I welcome becoming the partner."

He further highlighted that Grab was already operating in 224 cities within Indonesia alone.

He then said: "I think it's possible (that) one day, one of your members can gain a few seats in parliament."

He also praised Grab for "doing good things" in every country where it operated and noted that, "based on recent research", the firm had so far contributed US$3.4 billion to the Indonesian economy.

Grab invited to contribute to Indonesia's push towards electric motorcycles

Airlangga also extended an invitation to Grab to take part in the country's push towards the use of electric motorcycles.

According to Tempo, the Indonesian government is aiming to produce 10 million electric motorcycles by the year 2025.

Additionally, the government has also rolled out a programme for a trial of the motorcycles in Bandung, Airlangga said.

He elaborated on his invitation to Grab: "I think the experience of the Grab drivers will contribute to the industry as a whole."

Impact of Grab limited by infrastructure in Indonesia

A different note was sounded by Indonesia's Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

In her opening speech to the event, she acknowledged that the digital economy could not bring about change unless the necessary infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and internet connection is first put in place.

Moreover, while infrastructure in Jakarta was relatively well-established, many other cities and regions did not have the same conditions needed for the digital economy to thrive.

Sri noted that some cities lacked either access to the internet or electricity.

She added that the Indonesian government has since made it its aim to connect all 75,000 villages in Indonesia to the internet, as well as provide 100 percent electricity accessibility nationwide.

Sri said, "The government of Indonesia will continue to build the necessary conditions so that progress can be achieved and enjoyed by all."

Three Indonesian ministers attended Grab's event in Jakarta.

The third minister was the Minister of Transport, Budi Karya Sumadi.

The "Grab for Good" event signalled the launch of the titular programme by Grab, with the aim of achieving the following goals by 2025:

• Improving digital inclusion and literacy in Southeast Asia,
• Empowering micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses,
• Building "future-ready workshops" via partnerships with educational institutions, non-profits and technology companies, so as to train up to 20,000 students in tech initiatives.

Anthony Tan, the CEO and co-founder of Grab, said the overall objective of "Grab for Good" was to ease the integration of Southeast Asians into the digital economy.

Top image collage from Airlangga Hartanto Facebook and Grab