Nadiem claims Chromebook procurement saved state funds by Rp3.9 trillion
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the 2019-2024 period, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, has claimed that the procurement of Chromebooks actually saved state finances by Rp3.9 trillion. He stated that the Ministry’s policy to select the Chrome operating system, which is entirely free, significantly reduced budget expenditures.
“This savings figure is actually far above the estimated state losses alleged in the Chromebook case,” Nadiem said during a hearing at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday. He explained that when the procurement team presented their recommendations, it was estimated that the cost for a school package using Windows operating systems would total Rp148 million per school, whereas a combination of Chrome and Windows operating systems cost only Rp98 million per school.
Nadiem questioned whether, if found guilty, it would imply that the state believed the Ministry should have chosen the more expensive option. Furthermore, he stated that the decision to select the Chrome operating system was not his own, as he never signed any documents related to the Chromebook procurement under the Ministry.
“While I agree with the technical team’s decision, which saved such a large budget, the authority rested entirely with them,” he said. He added that he was only linked to the policy because the team invited him to attend a single meeting via Zoom on 6 May 2020. He argued that the changes were made without his knowledge and therefore, under administrative law, did not constitute a ministerial decision. He also argued that there was no causality between the policy and any alleged state losses, noting that the use of a free operating system could not cause price mark-ups; rather, it reduced them.
Nadiem is one of the defendants in a corruption case involving the education digitalisation programme, specifically the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology between 201s and 2022. In this case, Nadiem is accused of corruption causing state losses of Rp2.18 trillion. The allegations suggest that the procurement of ICT-based learning tools for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years did not comply with procurement planning and principles.
The alleged actions of the founder of one of the technology companies were reportedly carried out alongside three other defendants in separate trials: Ibrahim Arief (alias Ibam), Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently a fugitive. Detailed state losses include Rp1.56 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme, as well as 44.05 million US dollars (approximately Rp621.39 billion) due to the procurement of unnecessary and non-beneficial CDM. It is noted that a significant portion of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a 786.99 million US dollar investment from Google. Under the charges, the former Minister faces penalties under the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes.