The recent arrest of Indonesia’s communication and information technology minister, Johnny G Plate, has raised concerns about President Joko Widodo’s efforts to combat corruption. Plate was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in a corruption case related to a telecommunications project that resulted in a loss of over $500 million to the state exchequer. The project was initiated in 2020 to improve mobile coverage in underdeveloped and remote areas of Indonesia, but only 4,200 locations have received the equipment so far, despite the project being due for completion this year.
Plate’s arrest, along with five other suspects, including three from the private sector, has sparked speculation about the fate of his NasDem Party, which is part of the government coalition with seven others. NasDem had earlier endorsed opposition politician Anies Baswedan as a presidential candidate in 2024. President Widodo has referred to the party as an “outsider” in the coalition.
The corruption case is believed to have cost the state 8 trillion rupiahs ($539 million), including fictitious payments for base stations that were never built. Muhammad Yusuf Ateh, head of development finance control at the prosecutor’s office, stated that there was sufficient evidence that Plate was involved in the base transceiver stations corruption case.
Plate’s arrest comes after the imprisonment of social affairs and fisheries ministers in 2021 on corruption charges, further tarnishing President Widodo’s credibility in fighting corruption. Transparency International’s corruption perception index shows that Indonesia dropped four points last year to 110 out of 180 countries.