Dasco Clarifies Intent Behind Birthday Greeting Post for Nadiem

House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad has explained the intent behind posting a birthday greeting to former Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim on his personal Instagram account. He stated that his Instagram account administrator is establishing a new practice of posting birthday greetings to public figures. “My new admin is now making it a habit to post birthday wishes for every public figure on my account. As you will see, starting yesterday, today, and so on,” Dasco said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Monday. Dasco acknowledged receiving numerous questions about whether the post was related to granting amnesty or abolition to Nadiem. He asserted that the post had no connection to such measures. The timing of Dasco’s post came shortly after Nadiem was found guilty in a corruption case. “Yes, there were many questions, and I was also confused about how to answer, because there was really no such intention,” he said. In his post on Saturday, Dasco wished Nadiem a happy birthday. Nadiem was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined Rp1 billion in a corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management for the 2020-2022 fiscal year. The judge declared Nadiem guilty of corruption as charged in the subsidiary indictment. He was also given an additional sentence requiring him to pay restitution of Rp809.5 billion. If the restitution is not paid, it will be replaced with an additional 5-year prison term. One member of the panel of judges, Andi Saputra, issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that the prosecutor’s charges against Nadiem were not proven and that he should have been acquitted of all charges in the Chromebook case. Nadiem has stated he will appeal the verdict.