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Analysis: Corruption charge against minister alters 2024 political landscape
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Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate at the Jakarta Presidential Palace Complex in October 2019. (JP/Donny Fernando)
T
he arrest of a top Cabinet minister on charges of corruption will alter the political landscape ahead of the February 2024 general elections, with presumptive presidential candidate Anies Baswedan and his chief sponsor, the NasDem Party, taking big hits.
Never mind whether Johnny G. Plate, the communications and information minister, is guilty or not, his arrest on May 18 clearly was timed to undermine the electoral chances of both NasDem, to which he belongs, and Anies, the former Jakarta governor. Johnny may walk free at the end of the investigation, which will take a long process, but the damage will already have been done.
The move to name Johnny as suspect seems to have the fingerprints of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo all over. Although Jokowi cannot run for a third term, he has been maneuvering to ensure his successor will protect and continue his legacy. He has publicly endorsed two other presumptive candidates, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, but not Anies, who has been campaigning for change after Indonesia was led by Jokowi for two terms.
Jokowi retains some influence in the 2024 presidential outcome even though he does not chair any political party. He controls to some extent the fate of the seven parties in his coalition government, of which NasDem is one of them. And he commands the loyalty of millions of diehard nonpartisan supporters who will vote for the party and the presidential candidate that he chooses.
When NasDem formally announced in November that Anies would be its presidential candidate, other parties in the coalition demanded NasDem be expelled. Jokowi did not budge, and typical of a Javanese politician who keeps his hands clean, he got the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to do his bidding, arresting Johnny on charges of corruption for the construction of telephone towers in frontier areas.
The KPK said it would follow the trail of the Rp 8 trillion (US$530 million) that Johnny is accused of embezzling, sending clear signals that the investigation will go all the way to NasDem. If found guilty of accepting bribes, under the law on political parties, the court may dissolve the party.
Johnny has denied the charges, saying he was a self-made billionaire and had no need to steal. The telephone towers project contract went to his brother.
