Johnny Gerard Plate
Official portrait, 2019
6th Minister of Communications and Informatics
In office
23 October 2019 – 17 May 2023
PresidentJoko Widodo
Preceded byRudiantara
Succeeded byBudi Arie Setiadi
Member of People's Representative Council
In office
1 October 2014 – 23 October 2019
ConstituencyEast Nusa Tenggara
Personal details
Born (1956-09-10) 10 September 1956 (age 67)
Ruteng, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
Political partyNasdem Party
SpouseMaria Ana
Children3
Alma materAtma Jaya Catholic University

Johnny Gerard Plate (born 10 September 1956) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as Minister of Communication and Information Technology in Joko Widodo's Onward Indonesia Cabinet from 2019 to 2023. Previously, he served in the People's Representative Council for five years, and had been reelected for a second term in the 2019 election. He is a graduate of Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia.

On 17 May 2023, Plate was arrested under charges of corruption.[1] The Attorney General of Indonesia formally made him a suspect of a Rp 8 trillion (USD 550 million) graft case related to Base Transceiver Station projects between 2020 and 2022.[2][3] Mahfud MD was named acting Minister of Communication and Information Technology thereafter.

Early life and education

Johnny Gerard Plate was born in the town of Ruteng, in Flores, on 10 September 1956, from Paulus Plate, a health nurse, and Theresia Pora, an elementary school teacher.[4][5] He studied economics and business management at the Atma Jaya Catholic University, from 1979 to 1986.[6]

Career

In the early 1980s, he entered the business of agricultural equipment, during a boom in new plantations in Kalimantan and Papua.[5][7] He later joined AirAsia and served as commissioner in several companies.[5][7]

Plate ran in the 2014 legislative election as a Nasdem Party candidate in the East Nusa Tenggara 1 electoral district, and he successfully secured a seat after winning 33,704 votes.[8] During his term in the People's Representative Council, he was appointed secretary-general of Nasdem in 2017.[9] He was reelected in 2019 with 115,921 votes.[10]

On 23 October 2019, President Joko Widodo appointed Plate as the Minister of Communication and Information Technology.[11]

Corruption case

On 17 May 2023, Plate was arrested for being involved in a corruption case in the 4G base transceiver station infrastructure project for supporting infrastructure packages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Bakti Kominfo 2020–2022. State losses was estimated around 8 trillion rupiah. [12] Plate is alleged to have received special privileges to play golf six times, totaling 420 million rupiah. Additionally, his hotel bills were paid during trips to Barcelona, Paris, London, and the United States. It is alleged that Plate benefited from corruption amounting to 17.8 billion.[13] Plate allegedly demanded that some of the graft payment to be sent for humanitarian purposes such as the flood victims in East Flores, Christian Evangelical Church in Timor in East Nusa Tenggara, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kupang.[14] Plate is alleged to have demanded a monthly payment of 500 million rupiah and refused to conduct a feasibility study for the 4G base transceiver station project. Furthermore, he allegedly allowed the contractor to receive full payment despite their failure to complete the project within the designated timeframe.[15]

Plate stated that he never received any money or any special privileges.[16] During the trial, Plate claimed that the construction of the stations was ordered by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and that he did not initiate the project with the intention of making a personal profit.[17]

References

  1. ^ Wibowo, Eko Ari (2023-05-17). "Kejaksaan Agung Periksa Lagi Menkominfo Johnny G Plate, Dalami soal Kerugian Negara Rp 8 T". Tempo. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  2. ^ Akbar, Adrial (17 May 2023). "Menkominfo Johnny G Plate Jadi Tersangka dan Ditahan di Kasus BTS Rp 8 T!". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Indonesia's communication minister arrested in corruption case". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  4. ^ Nurcahyani, Ida (2023-03-25). "Paulus Plate ayah Menkominfo Johnny G. Plate meninggal dunia". Antara News. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ^ a b c "Profil Johnny G Plate, Pengusaha Penerbangan yang Jadi Menkominfo". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. ^ "JOHNNY G. PLATE, SE". dpr.go.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Johnny G. Plate". viva.co.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  8. ^ "Hanya Raih 31.983 Suara, Eurico Guterres Gagal Lolos ke Senayan". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. ^ Setiawan, Kodrat (7 September 2017). "Surya Paloh Tunjuk Johnny G Plate sebagai Sekjen Partai NasDem". Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Nasdem NTT Kirim Tiga Wakil ke DPR RI". Media Indonesia (in Indonesian). 11 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Johnny G. Plate Resmi Jadi Menkominfo". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  12. ^ Akbar, Adrial (17 May 2023). "Menkominfo Johnny G Plate Jadi Tersangka dan Ditahan di Kasus BTS Rp 8 T!" (in Indonesian). detik.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  13. ^ Yuliawati, Lis; Lestari, Yeni (2023-06-27). "Johnny G Plate Didakwa Terima Fasilitas Main Golf hingga Hotel Senilai Lebih dari Rp1 Miliar". VIVA (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  14. ^ "Jaksa: Johnny Plate Dikucuri Uang Hingga Dimanjakan Main Golf". detikinet (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  15. ^ Yahya, Achmad Nasrudin (2023-06-27). "12 Perbuatan Korup Johnny Plate dalam Dakwaan Kasus Proyek BTS". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  16. ^ Nufus, Wilda Hayatun. "Johnny Plate Bantah Terima Duit dan Fasilitas Terkait Korupsi BTS". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  17. ^ Ni'am, Syakirun (2023-07-04). Setuningsih, Novianti (ed.). "Johnny G Plate Mulai Tabuh Genderang Perlawanan: Ungkit Arahan Jokowi dan Bantah Terima Uang". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
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