Public prosecutors have scrutinised alleged overpricing in the\nprocurement of Chromebooks at the Ministry of Education, Culture,\nResearch and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).<\/p>\n
Facts disclosed during the trial indicate that the Chromebooks\npurchased by the government were priced at Rp5 million to Rp6 million\nper unit, whereas the market price for the lowest specifications hovered\naround Rp3 million.<\/p>\n
This was stated by Public Prosecutor Parade Hutasoit in response to\nthe plea of defendant Nadiem Makarim and his legal team in the alleged\ncorruption case concerning the Chromebook procurement at the\nministry.<\/p>\n
According to Parade, his party will deliver a complete response\nduring the replication hearing on 9 June 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it is said to be profitable, the profitability cannot be proven\nup to now,\u201d Parade said, as quoted on Thursday, 4 June 2026.<\/p>\n
He asserted that the trial facts instead showed a significant price\ndifference between the procurement cost and the market price of the\nChromebooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are the trial facts. Meanwhile, in that procurement, the price\nof one Chromebook was around Rp6 million, so Rp5 million to Rp6 million.\nSo there is overpricing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The public prosecutor also questioned Nadiem\u2019s claim in his plea that\nthe Chromebook programme had saved the state budget up to Rp3.9\ntrillion. According to Parade, there is a contradiction in the defence\u2019s\narguments.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn one hand, he says it was not him who suggested it, but on the\nother hand, he concludes that Chromebooks represent a profitable\nprogramme,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Beyond questioning the substance of the defence, Parade rejected\naccusations that the case ensnaring the former Education Minister was\npolitically motivated. He stressed that the entire prosecution process\nis based on trial facts and submitted evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cFundamentally, we as public prosecutors have never been grounded in\npolitical matters. We are purely about law enforcement,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Parade revealed that his party had studied the defence note,\nconsisting of 16 pages of Nadiem\u2019s personal plea and 1,334 pages of\ndocuments from the legal counsel team. He considers there to be a\nfundamental difference between the conclusions presented by the\ndefendant\u2019s side and the case construction built by the prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, the defendant\u2019s legal counsel and the defendant\nessentially conclude that the elements as we have charged, which we read\nout in a previous session declaring the defendant subject to the primary\ncharge, have not been proven,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutors-flag-indications-of-overpricing-in-education-ministrys-chromebook-procurement-1780591957", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }