Dissenting Opinion in Verdict Hearing for Ibam: The Defendant Was Merely a Technology Consultant
Two out of five members of the judicial panel issued a differing opinion or dissenting opinion in the verdict hearing for the alleged corruption case in the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops, which ensnared former technology consultant Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam.
In the hearing, the dissenting opinion was delivered by associate judge II Eryusman and associate judge IV Andi Saputra, who stated that Ibam was merely a consultant tasked with listing Chromebook laptop prices based on marketplace rates.
“This shows that the defendant’s capacity was only as an information technology consultant, and not a pricing consultant or financial consultant, which is common in consulting practices as long as no collusion is found between the consultant and the goods provider, which in this case has not been proven that the defendant engaged in a criminal conspiracy or PMH with the principal, distributor, or reseller,” said Judge Andi while reading the dissenting opinion at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (12/5/2026).
Additionally, during the trial process, Ibam was not proven to have lobbied budget managers at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to choose Chromebooks.
On the contrary, Ibam even pointed out the weaknesses of Chromebooks to former Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim.
“The defendant recommended that Windows-based PCs are still needed for schools due to their flexibility and functionality,” the dissenting opinion continued.
Furthermore, Ibam was deemed not to have received any direct or indirect benefits from the Chromebook procurement.
“Considering that from the analysis above, there is no role of the defendant in the incident alleged by the prosecutor, that although there is indeed a series of actions related to one another, it turns out there is no direct and strong causality between the defendant’s actions or role and the direct crime,” the judge explained.
“Imposing a sentence on the defendant Ibrahim Arif alias Ibam therefore with a prison sentence of 4 years and a fine of Rp500 million,” said the Chief Judge of the Panel, Purwanto S Abdullah, in the hearing at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court, Tuesday (12/5/2026).
Ibam was deemed proven guilty, and the sentence of imprisonment accompanied by a fine of Rp500 million was imposed. The judicial panel also stipulated that the fine must be paid within one month at the latest after the decision gains legal force.
In the indictment, the prosecutors stated that Ibam prepared a technical study referring to a specific product, namely Chromebook.
He was also said to have presented several materials to ministry officials to choose Chromebook as the procurement product.
In addition, the prosecutors highlighted the increase in Ibam’s wealth by Rp16.9 billion, which is believed to stem from the criminal act of corruption.