Ibrahim Arief Reveals Request to Make "Upward Statement", Arrested After Refusing

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Technology Consultant in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology environment, Ibrahim Arief, claimed he was once contacted by someone to create an “upward statement” so that his case would not be expanded.

“When on 24 June 2025, I was contacted by an information intermediary who verbally conveyed that he was asked by someone in the ongoing investigation process to tell me to agree, I quote, ‘to make a statement pointing upwards’ and if I refused, the case would be ‘expanded by us’,” said Ibrahim while reading his personal plea in the trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday (23/4/2026).

Ibrahim, alias Ibam, said this message was received when he was still a witness.

Two weeks after his house was searched, Ibam was summoned and gave his statement as a witness for the first time.

This intermediary also conveyed a statement of pity for Ibam.

“Please tell him, I feel sorry for Mas Ibam, when we searched his house I could see the piled-up medicines and he is sickly,” said Ibam, imitating the intermediary’s words.

This sentence of pity convinced him that the message sender was one of the investigators who participated in searching his house at the end of May 2025.

He realised that at that time he was given a choice: lie to save himself or tell the truth but risk being criminalised.

Ibam chose not to corner Nadiem as the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and his superior at the PSPK Foundation, Najeela Shihab.

Najeela was the person who encouraged Ibam to meet with Google representatives who wanted to introduce the Chromebook product.

“I never received any instructions from Nadiem Anwar Makarim or Najeela Shihab to direct the procurement,” said Ibam.

A few days later, Ibam was contacted again by the intermediary and conveyed his refusal to fulfil the previous request.