Nadiem Makarim to Deliver Plea Today, Defence Document Reaches 1,370 Pages

Jakarta, VIVA – The former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, is facing a crucial moment in the trial concerning alleged corruption in the education digitalisation procurement, specifically the Chromebook project at the Ministry of Education.

During the hearing held at the Jakarta Central Corruption Court on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, Nadiem is scheduled to deliver his defence statement, or plea, before the panel of judges.

Nadiem’s legal team revealed that the entire defence documentation has been completed. Notably, the defence notes prepared by Nadiem’s camp are substantial in thickness.

Nadiem’s legal counsel, Ari Yusuf Amir, stated that the plea prepared by the legal advisory team reaches 1,370 pages. Meanwhile, the personal defence statement to be read directly by Nadiem consists of approximately 20 pages.

“So, Nadiem’s plea will be read, and as for our plea, because it is too voluminous at 1,370 pages, we will only present several important summaries which will be outlined, rather than read aloud,” he told reporters on Tuesday, 2 June 2026.

Due to the extreme thickness of the document, the legal team will not read the entire contents during the trial. They will only present several key points deemed to represent the overall arguments of the defence.

Ari explained that there is a fundamental difference between the plea prepared by the legal team and the personal defence statement to be read by Nadiem. According to him, the document prepared by the legal counsel contains more analysis and arguments based on the facts revealed during the trial proceedings.

Meanwhile, Nadiem’s personal defence is said to focus more on his perspective as a citizen facing a legal process. “Nadiem’s part is more about the simple logic of a layperson regarding the legal situation,” he said.

In addition to the defence agenda, this hearing is expected to draw significant public attention. Ari admitted to receiving information regarding plans for several influencers to attend and monitor the trial proceedings directly.

“We have received information that there may be dozens of influencers coming directly. There are many,” he noted.

The presence of these influencers is predicted to bring Nadiem’s trial back into the wide public spotlight, given that the alleged Chromebook corruption case has been one of the most high-profile cases in recent times.