Nadiem: Online meetings during my tenure as minister were not recorded in accordance with standards
Jakarta — Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (2019-2024) Nadiem Anwar Makarim stated that all online meetings during his ministerial tenure were not recorded because this was in accordance with established standards.
“The reason is that it is standard practice that all Zoom meetings are not recorded,” Nadiem said when giving testimony as a crown witness at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.
In a previous witness examination, Kemendibudristek Secretary during 2019-2024 Deswitha Arvinchi had revealed that all of Nadiem’s online meetings whilst serving as Education Minister could not be recorded, in accordance with direct instructions from Nadiem.
Deswitha explained that one such online meeting involved Google, which was initiated by a request letter from the company.
Beyond online meetings, Nadiem acknowledged that other meetings held in person during his tenure as Education Minister were also never recorded, particularly internal meetings.
“I think practically everyone does not record internal meetings,” he stated.
Nadiem is serving as a crown witness (witness and defendant simultaneously) against three defendants: Ibrahim Arief alias Ibam, Sri Wahyuningsih and Mulyatsyah.
In the alleged corruption case involving the education digitalisation programme concerning the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) within the Ministry of Education from 2019-2022, the three defendants are accused of causing state financial losses of Rp2.18 trillion.
The losses comprise Rp1.56 trillion related to the education digitalisation programme at the Ministry of Education and USD 44.05 million, equivalent to Rp621.39 billion, resulting from the procurement of unnecessary and non-beneficial CDM in the education digitalisation programme.
It is alleged that the three defendants committed these unlawful acts in collaboration with Nadiem and former Special Staff to the Education Minister Jurist Tan.
The unlawful conduct allegedly carried out by the defendants includes the procurement of technology-based learning facilities in the form of Chromebook laptops and CDM in the fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022, which did not conform to procurement planning and various procurement principles.
For their actions, the three defendants face penalties under Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 read together with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Offences as amended and supplemented by Law No. 20 of 2001 read together with Article 55 paragraph (1) sub-paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.