Nadiem Questions Fiona and Ibrahim in Court: Was There Pressure From Me to Choose a Chromebook?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim asked for clarification from his former aide, Fiona Handayani, and former consultant, Ibrahim Arief, regarding the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops.

Nadiem wants to emphasise that there were no special instructions from him for the Chromebook procurement.

“Mr Ibam, from January up to 6 May (2020), was there any WhatsApp push from me, any directive, pressure, or coercion to choose Chrome OS (operating system)?” Nadiem asked in a court hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday (5/3/2026).

“There was none,” Ibam replied.

Nadiem drew a long breath after hearing Ibrahim’s answer.

Then Nadiem asked the same question to Fiona.

“Fiona, was there?” asked Nadiem.

Nadiem again took a deep breath before continuing the question.

To the two witnesses, Nadiem asked about the 6 May 2020 meeting that had been touted as the source of the alleged crime.

“According to the logic of the crime that occurred, the 6 May meeting should have been a formality, in which it had been planned from the outset that Chrome would be decided, and 6 May was to bear the minister’s stamp that Chromebook would move forward,” Nadiem said.

Before discussing the contents of the meeting, Nadiem asked Fiona to explain their exchange on 5 May 2020, the day before the meeting.

In that exchange, Fiona reminded Nadiem of the meeting on 6 May.

“As usual, if there are meetings, we will update Mr Nadiem beforehand, because before meetings the agenda is usually informed in advance,” Fiona said.