Former Secretary-General of Ministry of Education Recounts Being Demoted After Interview with Nadiem and Najelaa Shihab

Prosecutors presented former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), Didik Suhardi, during a hearing in the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM). Didik testified that he was removed from his position after being interviewed by Nadiem Makarim when the latter served as Education Minister and founder of the independent learning programme at the PSPK Foundation headed by Najelaa Shihab.

Didik gave his testimony at Jakarta Central Anti-Corruption Court on Monday, 2 March 2026. The prosecutor initially asked Didik whether he had ever been demoted in rank by Nadiem.

“Were you ever demoted in rank by Mr Nadiem?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes,” Didik replied.

“When were you demoted? Did Mr Nadiem lower your rank immediately upon taking office?” the prosecutor continued.

“I was replaced as Secretary-General on 16 December 2019,” Didik answered.

For context, Nadiem took office as minister in October 2019. The prosecutor then questioned the reasons behind Didik’s demotion.

“Only two months. You were not aware you would be replaced and demoted in rank. When we are demoted in rank, we are investigated. What were the findings? Was there an error?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes, I was indeed called in at that time. One day after he took office, I was summoned and interviewed. Minister Nadiem and Ms Najelaa Shihab were both present. However, the interview environment was not conducive, as everything I explained was interrupted. So I could not provide a more comprehensive explanation,” Didik stated.

Didik further explained that approximately seven days after the interview, Nadiem informed him he would be reassigned to the position of expert staff. He claimed to have questioned Nadiem about the reason for this shift.

“I told him that expert staff was not my passion, because I am a field person. I have been working since 1982 as a contract worker, and then as Secretary-General until 2019. So I am a field person. Being expert staff was something I did not understand at that time. So I conveyed that it was not my passion,” he said.

For information, the Chromebook laptop procurement corruption case caused state losses of Rp 2.1 trillion. Nadiem is one of the defendants in this case.

Apart from Nadiem, other defendants include Sri Wahyuningsih, former Director of Primary Schools at the Directorate-General of Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary Education from 2020-2021; Mulyatsyah, former Director of Junior Secondary Schools at Kemendikbudristek in 2020; and Ibrahim Arief (Ibam), former consultant at Kemendikbudristek during Nadiem’s tenure.