Former Nadiem Makarim aide overwhelmed with emotion in front of prosecutor

Director of SMP at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemdikbudristek) during Nadiem Makarim’s era, Mulyatsyah, became angry in the courtroom in front of prosecutors. The former Nadiem aide testified that he was furious because he did not know there were rules governing the laptop procurement project at Kemdikbudristek.

This was stated by Mulyatsyah at the resumed hearing of the Chromebook laptop procurement case at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court (Pengadilan Tipikor Jakarta) on Thursday, 5 March 2026. Sitting as a defendant was Nadiem Anwar Makarim, former Minister of Education and Culture, Research and Technology. Mulyatsyah is also one of the defendants in the case.

The source of Mulyatsyah’s anger when he spoke about Permendikbud Number 11 of 2020. The regulation concerns laptop procurement using the Windows operating system.

Permendikbud Number 11 of 2020 was issued by Nadiem on 24 February 2020. The Permendikbud contains Operational Guidelines for the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) Physical for Education in the 2020 Budget Year, which covers DAK Physical funds for education at PAUD, SD, SMP, SMA, SKB, SLB, and SMK.

“Sir, do you know, because it’s an anomaly for me, this defendant previously in February issued Permendikbud Number 11 of 2020 concerning the Operational Guidelines for the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) Physical for the Education sector, whose operating system is not Chrome but Windows 10. Could you provide an explanation?” asked the prosecutor.

“I knew at the time of the examination and I was very angry. But I could not be angry with anyone. Because I feel, I am a region person who has fought hard and worked well, with no wrongdoing, worst of all my background as a teacher. I taught for 10 years in a senior high school. So my career, I started as a teacher. A teacher speaks truth and the heart speaks in line with actions,” Mulyatsyah replied.

The prosecutor followed up with questions about a remote meeting with Nadiem on 5 June 2020.

“During the Zoom Meeting on 5 June attended by the Defendant, was Permendikbud 11 of 2020 not disclosed?” the prosecutor asked.

“No, because the Zoom Meeting on the 5th was about the program’s technical details,” Mulyatsyah answered.

Mulyatsyah is also a defendant in the matter. He is tried in a separate dossier from Nadiem. In addition to having been the director of SMP, Mulyatsyah also served as the head of the Technical Team for Reviewing the Results of the Technical Team for Analyzing the Needs for Information and Communication Technology Learning Tools in Primary and Secondary Education.

In this case, Nadiem is accused of corruption related to the Chromebook laptop procurement during his tenure as Mendikbudristek. The project is said to have caused state losses of Rp 2.1 trillion.

In addition to Nadiem and Mulyatsyah, Sri Wahyuningsih, former Director of Primary Education at the Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, and Secondary Education for 2020-2021, and Ibrahim Arief (Ibam), a former Kemendikbudristek consultant during Nadiem’s era, are also named as defendants in the case.