Judges Rule Nadiem Placed Special Staff Beyond Authority in Chromebook Procurement Case

A panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court has ruled that former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, abused his authority by placing special ministerial staff in positions that exceeded their duties and functions as stipulated by legislation. The assessment was delivered by Judge Sunoto during the reading of the verdict considerations for the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management on Tuesday (30/6). The judge explained that, based on Presidential Regulation Number 68 of 2019 concerning the Organisation of State Ministries and related rules, special staff to the minister only have the authority to provide advice and considerations to the minister in specific fields. Special staff do not have operational authority over echelon I or echelon II officials, nor are they authorised to formulate or decide policy. However, according to the panel of judges, trial facts showed that Nadiem placed Jurist Tan as Special Staff to the Minister for Government Affairs and Fiona Handayani as Special Staff to the Minister for Strategic Issues in positions that exceeded their normative authority. This consideration was based on the testimony of several witnesses from within the ministry. Former Director General of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Secondary Education, Jumeri, for instance, stated that Jurist Tan often led meetings via Zoom regarding ministry policy. He also mentioned that the budgeting process and procurement policy were more often entrusted to special staff than to directorate general officials. ‘Jurist Tan is close to the defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim and what Jurist Tan conveyed were the words of the defendant,’ the judge said, quoting witness testimony. The panel also cited the testimony of former Director of Junior Secondary Schools, Purwadi Sutanto, who stated that substantive authority in formulating information and communication technology procurement policy was largely in the hands of the minister’s special staff together with the ministry’s technology team. This testimony was deemed consistent with the statements of several other internal officials. The judge assessed that this pattern did not occur by chance but had been designed before Nadiem was officially inaugurated as minister. During the trial, Nadiem admitted that the WhatsApp group ‘Mas Menteri Core Tim’ was formed on 28 August 2019, before he was inaugurated as minister on 23 October 2019. The group, according to the judge, already included people who were later appointed as special staff, including Jurist Tan and Fiona Handayani. In addition, the panel also highlighted the existence of the WhatsApp group ‘Tim PAUD Dasmen’ which, based on witness Jumeri’s testimony, had discussed the education digitalisation programme before the relevant officials were officially appointed. This fact was considered to indicate policy planning outside the formal structure of the ministry. Besides the abuse of authority, the panel of judges also considered that Nadiem misused facilities by placing an external consultant, Ibrahim Arief, in a strategic position on the technical procurement team. The judge stated that Ibrahim Arief, an information technology consultant from the Centre for Education Policy Studies and not a state civil servant, was appointed to lead the Warung Teknologi (Wartek) Team under the Ministry’s Data and Information Centre and played an important role in preparing the technical study for the procurement of information and communication technology devices. The panel also quoted the testimony of a procurement of goods and services expert from the National Public Procurement Agency (LKPP), Setyabudi Arijanta. Based on Presidential Regulation Number 16 of 2018 and its amendments, consultants from outside the ministry are not permitted to direct or specify particular brands in the preparation of technical procurement specifications. However, according to the trial facts considered by the panel, Ibrahim Arief actively provided technical input that directed the procurement towards the Chrome OS operating system as the primary choice. ‘The placement of an external consultant in such a position constitutes a misuse of the facilities available to the defendant as minister,’ said Judge Sunoto while reading the verdict considerations. The Public Prosecutor had sought a sentence of 18 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion, subsidiary to 190 days of confinement, for former Minister Nadiem Makarim. In addition, Nadiem was also ordered to pay a total replacement sum of Rp5.6 trillion, consisting of Rp809 billion and Rp4.8 trillion. If the replacement money is not paid, he faces an additional 9 years in prison.