Many Believe Johnny G. Plate Involved in the Kominfo BTS Corruption Scandal

Johnny G. Plate, Minister of Communication and Informatics (Kemenkominfo), was recently questioned as a witness by the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

According to Katadata, Plate was questioned in the investigation of the procurement of 4G base transceiver station (BTS) towers and supporting infrastructure for packages 1-5 of BAKTI Kemenkominfo during the 2020-2022 period. The estimated state losses due to this case reach Rp1 trillion.

Gregorius Alex Plate, Johnny's brother, was also questioned. He allegedly received Rp534 million from BAKTI. Alex has since returned all the funds he received.

No charges have been filed against Johnny G. Plate to date. Kuntadi, Director of Investigation at the Attorney General's Office for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), stated that the investigation team has moved to the next stage to determine the fate of the Secretary General of the National Democrat Party.

(See also: Distribution of BTS in 3T Areas of Indonesia, Majority Telkomsel Network)

So, how does the public view this major case involving the minister?

Results from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) show that 16% of respondents were aware of the issue. The remaining 84% claimed to be unaware.

However, of those who were aware, 62.3% believe that Johnny G. Plate is involved in the corruption scandal. Furthermore, 25.4% were less certain or disbelieved, while 12.3% chose "don't know" or "didn't answer" (TT/TJ).

"Approximately 16% (of respondents) know/have heard of the alleged BTS corruption case involving Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate; of those who know, the majority (62.3%) believe that Johnny G. Plate committed corruption," wrote LSI in its report.

This LSI survey involved 1,229 respondents aged 17 years and older or already married in February 2023 and early April 2023.

Sample selection was conducted using the random digit dialing (RDD) method, a technique of selecting samples through the random generation of telephone numbers, followed by validation and screening.

Data was collected from March 31 to April 4, 2023, and published on Sunday, April 9, 2023.

The margin of error for this survey is estimated at around 2.9% with a 95% confidence level, assuming simple random sampling.

(See also: Regarding the Rp300 Trillion Fund Flow in the Ministry of Finance, the Public Trusts Mahfud MD More Than the DPR)