2 Secretary General NasDem Have Been Suspects, Said Surya Paloh
Two people who had served as Secretary General of the NasDem Party were dragged into corruption cases. The two people are Patrice Rio Capella and Johnny G Plate. What did the Ketum NasDem Surya Paloh say?
Patrice Rio Capella was once caught in a Rp. 200 million gratuity case. Rio Capella was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison in 2015 and released from prison in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Office on May 17, 2023 named Johnny G Plate as a suspect in corruption in the Ministry of Communication and Informatics BTS project with alleged state losses of up to IDR 8 trillion. The man who serves as the Minister of Communication and Informatics is threatened with life imprisonment.
In a press conference at the NasDem Tower, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (17/5/2023), Surya Paloh was asked about this. He alluded to Rio Capella, who was previously caught in a Rp. 200 million gratuity case.
"So there were 2 incidents, both Secretary General, in one case Rp. 200 million he was in prison for several years, a gratuity case and has completed his obligations and is now a free citizen," said Paloh.
Surya Paloh then spoke about the case that ensnared Johnny Plate. He is waiting for evidence in this alleged corruption case.
"Second, Johnny Plate, it's up to the in-depth proof which might be in later, but today I carefully read the information from the Kapuspenkum there is an acknowledgment stating that he asked to be given 500 million for children every month with a state loss project of Rp. 8trillion," he explained.
Surya Paloh said it was too expensive for Johnny Plate to be handcuffed. Paloh put forward the presumption of innocence in this case.
"If there is no further investigation to find more compromising evidence, we will be even more sad. It is too expensive for him to be handcuffed in his capacity as a minister, as party secretary general, it is too expensive, too expensive," said Surya Paloh.
"We still adhere to the principle of the presumption of innocence. None of us can ensure that we are apart from mistakes, oversights, stupidity and even sin, that is what our presence as ordinary human beings means," he continued.