Nadiem's Old Story of Being Persuaded to Reject the Position of Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology

Nadiem Makarim is facing a demand for an 18-year prison sentence in the alleged corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). In addition to the prison term, the Public Prosecutors (JPU) are also demanding that the former Minister pay a fine of Rp 1 billion. “(Requesting the panel of judges) to impose a prison sentence on the Defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim, therefore, for 18 years, minus the time the Defendant has been in temporary detention, with an order for the Defendant to be immediately detained in a State Detention Centre,” stated the JPU while reading out the indictment at the indictment reading hearing at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (13/5/2026). Even in one of the hearings, he recounted his hesitation about accepting or rejecting the offer of the position of Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology from the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). What is the story of him accepting the position of Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology? Here is Nadiem’s story as revealed in the Chromebook case hearing: “Almost everyone around me persuaded me to reject that position. They were afraid I would be criticised because changes would certainly be opposed,” said Nadiem during the exception reading hearing on Monday (5/1/2026). “They were afraid I would be attacked because I have no political party support. They were confused, why at the peak of my success in business,” he continued. It was his parents’ message that became one of the considerations for him to accept the offer to become Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in the Jokowi era. “My parents always reminded me from childhood, ‘Nadiem, don’t forget, success is meaningless without service.’ These words became the basis of my consideration when I was offered the mandate to become Minister of Education,” said Nadiem. However, Nadiem admitted that he had weighed the pros and cons before considering a position. “I considered a position that would definitely harm me financially and reputationally. But I accepted that mandate for one reason: the country is calling. The nation’s next generation is calling,” said Nadiem.