Ngaku Tugas Menkominfo Berat, Budi Arie Ogah Masuk TKN Prabowo-Gibran

JAKARTA - Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi refused to join the structure of the national campaign team (TKN) for presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka. According to Budi, there are still many tasks given to him from President Joko Widodo.

"No (joining the TKN), the business as the Minister of Communication and Information is already tough like this, they are still told to join the team," said Budi Arie, Thursday, November 2.

The general chairman of the Projo volunteer movement admitted that he had received instructions to remain neutral as a minister and focused on carrying out his duties, even though Projo, he led, expressed support for Prabowo in the 2024 presidential election.

Budi also emphasized that Kominfo has a focus on overseeing the 2024 General Election, including avoiding the spread of fake news or hoaxes in the community. He hopes that all parties, including media crews, will help to socialize, and expand their wise attitude in sorting out and conveying information to the public.

"The role of the media is very important to socialize everything that happens. This is also needed to grow the media as a public space, especially in the digital era," said Budi.

It is known that Budi Arie was previously appointed as the Minister of Communication and Information to replace Johnny G Plate, who stumbled upon a corruption case in the base transceiver station (BTS) construction project of the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (Bakti) Kominfo.

Budi Arie said that the BTS project for the outermost, frontier, and underdeveloped (3T) areas would be pursued until his term of office as Kominfo ended. Budi Arie said as many as 5,600 BTS units were targeted to be ready to serve users of cellular telecommunications equipment in the 3T area.

The government is also trying to get cellular operators to get subsidies in managing all BTS in these remote areas. He guarantees the government's presence in providing connectivity to all citizens, including in the outermost areas.

"In mid-November to December, there is progress, we will announce achievements. Hopefully, the 5,600 BTS planned by BAKTI Kominfo can be used to serve the community if our language is on water," said Budi Arie.

The BTS management subsidy by the operator is given considering the large operational cost of each tower which is estimated at IDR 250 million. Meanwhile, telecommunications users served by BTS in the 3T region only reach at most tens of people, in contrast to the Jabodetabek area, for example, which is capable of serving up to 4,000 users.

In addition to the BTS project forgiveness, another task that Budi Arie focuses on as a Minister of Communication and Information is the eradication of online gambling. This is in accordance with President Jokowi's orders, which states that online gambling needs to be eradicated because it is detrimental to the small people.

"We are trying to suppress online gambling until the zero point is in accordance with the orders of the President," said Budi Arie.