Nadiem Makarim to appeal 10-year prison sentence
Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim will appeal a 10-year prison sentence handed down by the Jakarta Corruption Court. Makarim stated the appeal is a fight for truth, young people, professionals, and honest individuals who have been criminalised. “I will not stop. Please pray, please support, please lend your voice, and please lend your courage,” Makarim told the media following the verdict hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
Makarim claimed he had spent the past year fighting to reveal all the honest actions he and his team undertook while in office. Despite this, he said those efforts appeared meaningless as he was still found guilty and effectively sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison. The effective sentence is due to his inability to pay the additional Rp809.59 billion in restitution, which would add five years to his term. “They know this. Based on my final wealth report at the end of my tenure, I do not have that amount of money in any form. That means I am sentenced to 15 years,” he said.
Makarim also stressed that the Rp809.59 billion in question never entered his personal account, and documents and witnesses proved the funds never left the account of PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB), the entity behind GoTo. He noted the money belonged to PT AKAB and had no connection to Google or the Chromebook case. “Imagine, I am burdened with paying that back,” he remarked.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary of 190 days imprisonment, and ordered him to pay restitution of Rp809.59 billion, with a subsidiary of five years imprisonment. The restitution was imposed after he was proven to have received the funds from PT AKAB via PT Gojek Indonesia. It was stated that a significant portion of PT AKAB’s funds originated from a Google investment worth 786.99 million US dollars.
In this case, Makarim was proven to have abused his authority, causing state losses of Rp1.56 trillion. The corruption was allegedly carried out through the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities, specifically Chromebook laptops and CDM, for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, which did not comply with procurement planning and principles. The founder of the technology company was found to have committed the acts together with three other defendants who were previously convicted in separate trials: Ibrahim alias Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who remains a fugitive. Consequently, the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology was proven to have violated criminal provisions stipulated in Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.