Central Jakarta Court Clarifies After Judge Did Not Ask Nadiem's Stance on Verdict
The Spokesperson for the Central Jakarta District Court, Muhammad Firman Akbar, has emphasised that there is no issue if the panel of judges does not question the defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim’s stance regarding the verdict during the trial for the alleged Chromebook corruption case.
He stated that the defendant’s rights remain intact, as within the timeframe specified by law, he can still declare whether he accepts the verdict, wishes to consider it, or intends to file an appeal. “In judicial practice, it is actually not a problem if it is not asked,” Firman told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
During the verdict hearing for the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (2010-2024) on Tuesday (30/6), the panel of judges closed the proceedings immediately after reading the verdict. Typically, after reading the verdict, the presiding judge asks for the defendant’s stance on the decision. However, in the session led by Presiding Judge Purwanto Abdullah, the procedure differed from the norm.
In the case involving the alleged corruption of the education digitalisation programme—specifically the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology between 2019 and 2022—Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption.
In addition to the prison sentence, he was also ordered to pay a fine of Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary imprisonment of 190 days, and restitution amounting to Rp809.59 billion, with a subsidiary imprisonment of 5 years. The restitution was imposed after Nadiem was proven to have received Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) via PT Gojek Indonesia.
It was noted that a large portion of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth 786.99 million USD. In this case, Nadiem was proven to have abused his authority, causing state financial losses amounting to Rp1.56 trillion.
The corruption allegedly involved executing the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning tools, such as Chromebook laptops and CDM for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, in a manner inconsistent with procurement planning and principles.
The actions of the co-founder of one of the technology companies were stated to have been carried out alongside three other defendants who had been sentenced in separate trials: Ibrahim Arief (alias Ibam), Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently a fugitive.
Consequently, Nadiem was found to have violated the criminal provisions stipulated in Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) ke-1 of the Criminal Code.