Former Minister of Communication and Information Technology (Menkominfo), Johnny G Plate, has expressed his sense of injustice regarding the allegations made by the public prosecutor (JPU) of the Indonesian Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) that he received Rp 17.8 billion from the 4G base transceiver station (BTS) and supporting infrastructure project.

"When the public prosecutor read out the allegations, stating that I had been enriched by Rp 17,848,308,000, I truly felt unjustly treated, once again unjustly treated and unfairly by the public prosecutor," Johnny G Plate stated during his personal plea at the corruption court in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

The former Menkominfo believes that the witnesses presented in court were only seeking to protect themselves. He further contends that these witnesses provided testimony that portrayed him as the scapegoat for their own wrongdoings.

"This is not separate from the fact that all these allegations are based on the testimony of witnesses who are trying to save themselves, individuals who have admitted to receiving the funds to avoid becoming suspects themselves. Thus, they did not hesitate to provide false testimony against me," Johnny said.

He claimed that he was merely continuing the 4G BTS project initiated by the previous Menkominfo and accelerating the project based on President Jokowi's instructions.

"The procurement of 4G BTS in the 3T areas, including in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, with a total construction of 5,618 locations and a budget of 15.5 trillion, is a continuation of the signal freedom program, specifically the construction of 4G BTS in 3T locations previously determined by the former Menkominfo, Rudiantara, in 2019. This had already been discussed in the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I in July 2019, as testified by the witnesses. At that time, I was not yet a minister," he explained.

"The change in the 4G BTS target from the original 5,618 locations to 7,904 locations over a two-year period, from 2021 to 2022, was carried out at the President's direction in order to accelerate digital transformation, as conveyed in national meetings and cabinet meetings," he added.