Nadiem Makarim uses personal funds to provide additional salary for special staff
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for the 2019–2024 period, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, admitted to using personal funds to provide additional salaries for his special staff members.
He stated that special staff (stafsus) positions are not structural, unlike director generals who can earn income from various honours, activities, official duties, and so on.
“So I used personal funds to provide additional money to the SKM (Special Staff to the Minister) of around Rp15 million to Rp20 million per month,” Nadiem said during the defendant’s examination hearing at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday.
During his tenure as Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem had five special staff members: Pramoda Dei Sudarmo, Muhamad Heikal, Fiona Handayani, Hamid Muhammad, and Jurist Tan.
According to him, the additional salary was necessary to ensure that the lives of his special staff could continue smoothly, as all of Nadiem’s special staff were previously private sector employees accustomed to receiving large incomes.
However, since becoming special staff, Nadiem said they experienced a 70 to 80 per cent drop in income.
“I had to top them up so that their children, their apartment rents, their lives could still be okay,” he explained.
In that case, he is accused of committing corruption that harms the state finances by Rp2.18 trillion.
The corruption is alleged to have been committed, among others, by implementing the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning facilities in the form of Chromebook laptops and CDM for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years not in accordance with the procurement planning and procurement principles.
Nadiem’s actions are accused of being carried out jointly with three other defendants in separate trials, namely Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who is currently a fugitive.
In detail, the state losses include Rp1.56 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, as well as US$44.05 million or equivalent to Rp621.39 billion due to the procurement of unnecessary and unbeneficial CDM in the education digitalisation programme.
With those actions, Nadiem is alleged to have received money amounting to Rp809.59 billion originating from PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (PT AKAB) through PT Gojek Indonesia.
It is mentioned that most of PT AKAB’s funding sources come from Google’s investment of US$786.99 million.
This can be seen from Nadiem’s wealth recorded in the State Organiser’s Wealth Report (LHKPN) for 2022, which includes the acquisition of securities worth Rp5.59 trillion.
For his actions, the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology faces punishment as stipulated in Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 jo. Article 55 paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.