After being appointed and sworn in as the Minister of Communication and Information Technology by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, one of the instructions given to Budi Arie Setiadi was to resolve the issue of the signal transmitter project or Base Transceiver Station (BTS).

The BTS project is currently under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for causing a loss of IDR 8 trillion to the state.

Johnny Gerard Plate, former Secretary-General of the NasDem Party and the previous Communication Minister before Budi, has been indicted in this case.

Budi also declared his commitment to eradicate online gambling, stating that the government has shut down more than 8,000 gambling websites since 2018.

Gathering volunteers

Following his appointment, Budi gathered Jokowi's volunteers and conveyed a message from President Jokowi, urging them to stay united and harmonious despite having different preferences for presidential candidates.

According to Budi, there are Jokowi's volunteers who support Prabowo Subianto and others who endorse Ganjar Pranowo.

How Budi came to be

Prior to his appointment as the Minister of Communication, Budi received information from the State Secretary, Pratikno, who called him to the State Palace to inquire about his willingness to take up the position.

Furthermore, Pratikno also contacted Paiman Raharjo, the Rector of Moestopo University, and appointed him as the Deputy Minister for Village, Disadvantaged Areas, and Transmigration, a position left by Budi Arie.

Budi and Paiman are Jokowi's acquaintance

Both Budi Arie Setiadi and Paiman Raharjo are not new acquaintances to President Jokowi. Budi has known Jokowi for 15 years, initially meeting him while Jokowi was serving as the Mayor of Solo, Central Java, during the arrangement of thousands of street vendors in Taman Banjarsari. Since then, Budi and Jokowi have developed a close relationship.

After helping Jokowi win the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Budi founded Projo (Supporters of Jokowi), an organization that rallied support for Jokowi in the presidential elections of 2014 and 2019.

Although Budi had previously mentioned the possibility of Projo disbanding due to dissatisfaction with the cabinet composition, particularly with the inclusion of Prabowo Subianto, who had been Jokowi's rival twice.

Unwavering loyalty

Budi Arie emphasized his commitment to follow Jokowi's orders regarding support for the presidential candidate. "We will follow President Jokowi with unwavering loyalty," he stated.

Recently, Projo's support direction has become more apparent, with Budi often praising Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and meeting with Prabowo's supporters.

Similarly, Paiman stated that he is awaiting instructions from Jokowi. As an Independent Commissioner of PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, he mentioned that most of Sedulur Jokowi's members support Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who had been endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the last April election. Nonetheless, Paiman assured that his organization would follow Jokowi's directives.

Political parties respect Jokowi's decision to appoint volunteers as ministers, despite it being unusual. The Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Hasto Kristiyanto, stated that Budi Arie earned the ministerial position due to his assistance to Jokowi during the presidential elections, and the PDIP respects the President's decision.