Then communications and information minister Budi Arie Setiadi attends a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing information at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Sept. 10, 2024. - Photo: Antara file
JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto has called for a thorough curbing of the country's online gambling crisis, as pressure mounts for authorities to probe former communications and information minister Budi Arie Setiadi.
Online gambling has taken center stage in the two weeks since the start of Prabowo’s administration, following the arrest of scores of ministerial employees, private sector workers and an overnight social media sensation allegedly involved in the illegal activity.
During the cabinet plenary session at the State Palace on Wednesday (Nov 6), Prabowo made it clear that he would never tolerate any state officials or service members of security agencies who abused their influence to protect online gambling operators, Communication and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said.
“Several institutions were mentioned, including the police, the Attorney General’s Office and the Coordinating Politics and Security Ministry. But it’s not limited to just these three. All institutions are expected to work hand-in-hand in combating online gambling,” Meutya said.
“In his own words, ‘There should be no backing, no assistance of any kind,'” Meutya went on to say, noting the President’s firm stance on the fight against an illicit practice that largely targets people from disadvantaged backgrounds, “so there can no longer be any collusion.”
Prabowo reiterated a similar message in his speech during a national coordination meeting between central and local governments in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday, according to Deputy Transmigration Minister Viva Yoga Mauladi.
“Online gambling and narcotics must be eradicated because they are enemies of the state. In the case of online gambling, its cost has reached Rp 781 trillion [US$49.86 billion], and it eats up the state budget,” Viva said in a written press statement.
“Therefore, [the President] has instructed law enforcement officers, the prosecutor's office and the police to eradicate online gambling at its roots, and it is expected that all regional governments will be involved in law enforcement together," he added.
Over the past week, at least 12 employees of the Communications and Digital Technology Ministry were arrested over their alleged role in assisting gambling operators in keeping their websites online, despite a presidential order to close all gambling sites.
Through a proxy site in a rented shophouse in Bekasi, West Java, the ministry employees, most of whom had worked before Prabowo took office in late October, allegedly allowed some 1,000 websites to continue operating in the country, by soliciting kickbacks of up to Rp 8.5 million for each site.
The police have seized over Rp 73 billion of cash from the ministry employees’ operation, found in Rupiah, United States and Singapore dollar currencies, Jakarta Police spokesperson Commissioner Ade Ary Syam Ariandi said on Thursday.
The investigators have requested that 47 bank accounts linked to the suspects be blocked, and are currently inventorying the accounts of online gambling websites related to the case, Ade continued.
No political motives, revenge
Calls have been growing for the authorities to investigate the potential involvement of the ministry’s higher-ups, including Budi, who served as the communication and information minister in former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration between 2023 and 2024.
Budi is a leader of Jokowi’s largest volunteer network Pro-Jokowi, and had played an instrumental role in mobilizing support for Prabowo’s presidential campaign in February’s election, which the former Army general ultimately won.
The Jakarta Police have opened the possibility of investigating Budi's potential involvement in the case.
“We will investigate this further,” the police’s general crime investigation director Sr. Comr. Wira Satya Triputra said, as reported by Tempo.co.
Budi Arie, who is now serving as Cooperatives Minister in Prabowo’s cabinet, has said he is willing to cooperate with the police and denied any involvement in the case.
“I am always ready to be questioned,” Budi said at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday.
Addressing the accusations against its leader, ProJo has come to Budi Arie’s defense, claiming that the former communication and information minister was not aware of, let alone involved with, the online gambling syndicate in the ministry.
“It was, in fact, Budi Arie who later became a pioneer in the movement to eradicate online gambling," ProJo secretary-general Handoko said in a press conference on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Prabowo told a press briefing on Friday before embarking on his two-week-long overseas trip that he had instructed his cabinet members to “act decisively” to ensure a clean government, and act against “embezzlement and inefficiencies, free from manipulation or collusion” with other parties.
"There should be no political elements in implementing this campaign [against online gambling]. The effort must be firm and brave, but free from political motives and revenge. What we want to create is an atmosphere of clean government," said the President. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
