Nadiem Makarim Denies Corruption, Admits to Possible 'Mistakes' in Court

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim admitted he could be negligent, naive, or mistaken, but insisted there is no seed of corruption within him. Speaking at the Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, he stated he would never be capable of betraying his nation because the red and white flag is ingrained in his body. “I was raised to continue loving this nation, even if I must be sacrificed,” Nadiem said while reading his duplik (response to the prosecutor’s reply) in court.

Nadiem acknowledged he is a human with many shortcomings, but maintained he is an honest person. He sincerely apologised if any matters during the trial had displeased the panel of judges, noting that the case sometimes stirred various emotions. “If there were moments when the calm of the trial was briefly disturbed or when I got carried away, I apologise. I never once in my life imagined I would be in a position like this,” he said.

Nadiem is a defendant in a case of alleged corruption involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) for the education digitalisation programme at the ministry from 2019 to 2022. He has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, a Rp1 billion fine, and ordered to pay Rp5.67 trillion in restitution. The indictment states his actions caused state losses of Rp2.18 trillion, carried out jointly with three other defendants, including Ibrahim ‘Ibam’ Arief, Mulyatsyah, Sri Wahyuningsih, and Jurist Tan, who remains a fugitive. The losses include Rp1.56 trillion from the digitalisation programme and USD 44.05 million from unnecessary CDM procurement. Nadiem allegedly received Rp809.59 billion from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) via PT Gojek Indonesia, with the funds largely sourced from a Google investment of USD 786.99 million. His 2022 wealth report showed securities holdings worth Rp5.59 trillion.