Johnny G. Plate, the only Catholic in Joko Widodo's cabinet, is a member of the NasDem party. He was arrested after he was questioned for three hours at the Attorney General's Office. Along with five other people, he is accused of misusing state funds for personal gain, causing a loss of more than half a billion dollars.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology Johnny G. Plate has been arrested in connection with a huge corruption scandal in which the government lost more than half a billion dollars, the Indonesian Attorney General's Office (AGO) announced today.
Mr Plate, the only Catholic in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s cabinet, is the fifth minister to be charged with corruption since 2021 when the ministers of Fisheries and Social Affairs were jailed for the same reason.
A businessman and prominent leader of the National Democratic Party (NasDem), part of the ruling coalition, Plate was summoned several times to the AGO headquarters to clarify suspicious affairs.
In his latest summon, he was formally charged after three hours of questioning, along with five other individuals, including ministry officials, with misusing government funds causing a huge hole in the public treasury.
The AGO cited Plate's involvement in the acquisition of thousands of communications towers that, according to the ministry, were designed to bring 4G Internet to thousands of villages.
"Today we have full confirmation that the huge financial loss of the state is worth eight trillion rupees (US$ 544 million)," said Muhammad Yusuf Ateh, head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).
For some observers, ministers from the NasDem are being removed from the cabinet because the party has backed Anies Baswedan, an opposition leader, for the next presidential election.
In response to the arrest, the Ministry of Communication and information Technology issued a statement stating that it would abide by the law and that its services to the public would not be affected by the case.
President Jokowi's office said the arrest was unexpected. “On many occasions, the president reminded officials to work carefully,” said Jaleswari Pramodhawardhani, an official with the presidential office.