Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology,\nNadiem Anwar Makarim, delivered his defence plea (pleidoi) before the\nJudges of the Jakarta Central Corruption Court on Monday (2\/6). In his\ndefence, Nadiem emphasised that not a single element of corruption was\nproven in the procurement case of Chromebook laptops within the Ministry\nof Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).<\/p>\n
Responding to the public prosecutor\u2019s demand for a 27.5-year prison\nsentence, Nadiem stated that the policy to use the Chrome OS operating\nsystem actually resulted in state budget savings. \u201cIf I am found guilty,\ndoes it mean the state believes the ministry should have chosen a more\nexpensive option?\u201d Nadiende asked the panel of judges.<\/p>\n
According to Nadiem, throughout five months of trial involving more\nthan 50 witnesses and experts, the prosecutors failed to prove the\nsubstance of the indictments against him. He noted that trial facts\nshowed the average price of the Chromebooks purchased by the ministry\nwas Rp5.6 million per unit, which is lower than the 2020 market price\nthat, according to prosecution witnesses, reached Rp6.3 million per\nunit.<\/p>\n
Nadiem also highlighted discrepancies between audits conducted by the\nAudit Board of Indonesia (BPK) and the Financial and Development\nSupervisory Agency (BPKP). He noted that the BPK, as the authorised\ninstitution for declaring state losses, found no losses in the project.\nConversely, he argued that the state loss calculations performed by the\nBPKP used methods that did not reflect actual market prices.\nFurthermore, Nadiem stated that the Chromebook devices purchased by the\ngovernment are still widely utilised by schools; according to Chrome\nDevice Management (CDM) data, 85 per cent of devices purchased since\n2020 remain active as of 2025.<\/p>\n
In his plea, Nadiem asserted that he never signed any technical\ndocuments related to the Chromebook procurement, stating that the\ndecision regarding the choice of operating system rested entirely with\nthe technical team. He also referenced WhatsApp conversation evidence\npresented by the prosecution, which he claimed showed him encouraging an\nobjective decision-making process.<\/p>\n
Addressing allegations of a conflict of interest with Google, Nadiem\ndenied any reciprocal relationship between the technology company\u2019s\ninvestments and the Chromebook procurement policy. He clarified that\nmost of Google\u2019s investments in Gojek and GoTo occurred before he\nassumed office as minister, and that following his appointment, his\nstatus was merely that of an ordinary shareholder without any\ncontrolling rights or corporate positions.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on his personal experience, Nadiem admitted to a lack of\nexperience in navigating the political landscape of the bureaucracy. He\nnoted that his drive for professional efficiency and the reduction of\nbureaucracy was often misinterpreted as arrogance, leading to friction\nwith internal parties unsettled by digital transparency. He concluded by\nwarning that the criminalisation of transparent policies could deter top\nnational talent from entering the public sector due to the fear of legal\nrisks.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nadiem-asserts-no-corruption-charges-proven-in-chromebook-case-1780864292", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }