Gibran Open to Attending PTUN Hearing on His Education Certificate, with a Condition
Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is open to attending a lawsuit hearing concerning the education equivalency certificate at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN). His attendance would depend on whether the hearing schedule conflicts with his duties as vice-president assisting President Prabowo Subianto.
Gibran’s lawyer, Adil Supatra Akbar, told journalists in Jakarta on Thursday (29 October). “He said that if the occasion arises and it does not conflict with his schedule, he would have no objection to attending the hearing,” Adil said, according to a video recording on 20detik.com.
“However, that is conditional on the opportunity not conflicting with his schedule. As vice-president and an aide to the president, he naturally has many duties to complete,” he added.
Adil said that before the hearing of the lawsuit brought by Denny Indrayana’s legal team at the Jakarta PTUN, his team had spoken directly with Gibran. At the meeting, Gibran said he was not angry with anyone questioning the validity of his education.
“As I said, before we came to this hearing, we had already met with the vice-president. He personally asked us to help, and also said, ‘I am not angry with anyone; I just ask that this be addressed,’” Adil said.
According to the PTUN’s official website, the lawsuit over Gibran’s education equivalency certificate was filed on 15 July 2026. The plaintiff is listed as PT Mercy Toga Kirana, while the defendant is the Director-General of Secondary and Special Education at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen).
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare invalid or annul Decision No. 9149/D.D1/KS/2019, dated 6 August 2019, concerning the equivalency of qualifications. The decision formed the basis of the administrative assessment used by the General Elections Commission (KPU) when checking Gibran’s education requirements.
At Thursday’s hearing in the Jakarta PTUN, however, Denny and his legal team announced that they were withdrawing the lawsuit and walking out of the proceedings concerning Gibran’s education equivalency certificate.
Denny announced the walkout on his official personal Instagram account. “Today, my legal team and I are withdrawing the lawsuit and walking out of the PTUN hearing concerning Gibran’s Education Equivalency Certificate,” he wrote, according to a post cited on Thursday.
Denny said they walked out because the defendant, the Ministry of Education, had repeatedly failed to present any evidence that could form the basis for issuing Gibran’s certificate.
“Despite being asked repeatedly, including by the presiding judge, they have still not presented any evidence forming the basis for the certificate,” he wrote.
“What is strange is that, having failed to produce the evidence underpinning the certificate, the defendant then objected when we sought to withdraw the lawsuit. How can that be? What is going on?” Denny concluded in his post.
Gibran’s lawyer shows copies of his education certificates
Meanwhile, Adil told journalists in Jakarta on Wednesday about Gibran’s education, showing certificates and diplomas belonging to the eldest son of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Adil said Gibran attended a pre-university pathway programme at UTS Insearch, now called UTS College, in Australia. The institution issued a Certificate of Attendance, after which he continued at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) on the same level.
“UTS Insearch states in its Certificate of Attendance that Mr Gibran was indeed a student at the institution and completed 90 per cent of the subjects. MDIS then used this evidence as the basis for what is known as credit transfer — the transfer of grades. He then completed his pre-university studies at MDIS,” Adil said on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.
MDIS subsequently issued an Advanced Diploma, after which Gibran pursued higher education at the University of Bradford through its partnership with MDIS.
Adil said the MDIS Advanced Diploma is at the same level as an Advanced Level (A Level) qualification, which is used by various countries, including Singapore, as a standard for university admission.
He followed this route after completing junior secondary school in Surakarta, before continuing his education overseas and obtaining an Ordinary Level (O Level) certificate for secondary school in Singapore.
“People can see that in Indonesia, secondary education consists of junior and senior secondary school, six years in total. Overseas, secondary education is understood as lasting only four years. This is the first gap between the Indonesian and overseas education systems,” he said.
Adil said the explanation was intended to provide a complete and orderly account of the stages of Gibran’s education.
“This is what we have demonstrated in court, and we hope it is a very clear explanation that gives the public a simple, understandable picture of Gibran’s education history and how he obtained his qualifications, from primary school through to his bachelor’s degree,” he said.
Adil added that Gibran’s legal team had presented the judges at the Jakarta PTUN with all documents relating to his education and uploaded them to the court’s e-Court system.