Dasco Clarifies Birthday Greeting Post for Nadiem Amid Corruption Case

House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has explained his reason for posting a birthday greeting for former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, who turned 42 on 4 July 2026. Dasco conveyed his wishes to Nadiem via the Instagram account @sufmi_dasco. Dasco reasoned that the post was an example of a system being implemented by his social media account manager to offer greetings to national figures celebrating their birthdays. He stated he would continue this practice going forward. “My new admin is now making it a habit to wish every figure a happy birthday on my account. As seen starting yesterday, then today and so on,” said the Daily Chair of the Gerindra Party at the DPR building in Jakarta on Monday, 6 July 2026. Dasco claimed the post had no hidden meaning other than to share in the joy of Nadiem’s increasing age. He dismissed the notion that his post on social media could signal an intervention by President Prabowo Subianto in the legal process Nadiem is currently undergoing. On Tuesday, 30 June 2026, a panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Nadiem to 10 years in prison in a corruption case concerning the procurement of Chromebook laptops for the 2019-2022 period. Amid Nadiem’s appeal efforts, Dasco’s post sparked speculation that Prabowo intended to grant a pardon, similar to actions taken for two previous corruption defendants, namely the abolition granted to former Trade Minister Tom Lembong and amnesty for PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto. However, Dasco stressed that legal assistance for Nadiem has been handled by his team of lawyers, and he therefore stated there was no implied meaning in the content on his social media account. “Yes, there are many questions, I am also confused about how to answer. Because actually there is no such intention.” On the Instagram account @sufmi_dasco on Saturday, 4 July, Dasco uploaded a photo of a flower bouquet with a card reading ‘happy birthday’. In the caption, he wrote ‘wishing a happy birthday to Mas Nadiem, may you always be in His protection.’