Nadiem Claims Chromebook Discussions Minimally Involved Him
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, stated that discussions regarding Chromebook laptops involved very little of his personal involvement during his term in office.
“This is one of the most important findings from the trial facts,” Nadiem said while reading his rejoinder to the prosecutor’s replication during a hearing at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
According to him, out of his entire WhatsApp conversation history during his tenure, there were only four to five interactions discussing Chromebooks. He added that these occurred only because he was asked for his opinion.
By comparison, Nadiem noted that his interactions regarding the development of educational applications reached hundreds of times during his time as Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
He assessed that this demonstrates that the selection of information and communication technology (ICT) specifications, including Chromebooks, was only a small part of the overall education digitalisation programme.
Nadiem emphasised that he did not intend to downplay the laptop procurement programme. However, he maintained that the primary focus of the education digitalisation policy lay in the development of applications used by pupils, teachers, and students.
In his view, the greatest impact of the education digitalisation programme lies in the utilisation of applications and the digital learning ecosystem, rather than the selection of the devices used.
Nadiem also admitted to attending only one meeting specifically discussing the Chromebook procurement policy during his five-year term.
“By comparison, meetings discussing educational applications were held twice a month throughout my tenure,” he said.
Previously, the public prosecutor sought an 18-year prison sentence for Nadiem, a fine of Rp1 billion (subsidised by 190 days of imprisonment), and restitution of Rp5.67 trillion (subsidised by nine years of imprisonment).
In this case, Nadiq is accused of causing state financial losses amounting to Rp2.18 trillion through the education digitalisation programme involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and CDM.
The alleged actions were carried out in conjunction with three other defendants being tried in separate cases, namely Ibrahim Arief (alias Ibam), Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who remains a fugitive.
For his actions, Nadiem is charged with violating Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st KUHP (Criminal Code).