Nadiem's Testimony at Chromebook Trial: WhatsApp Group 'Mas Menteri' and Appointment of Jurist Tan
Jakarta, KOMPAS.com — Former Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim testified as a key witness for three other defendants in an alleged corruption case concerning the procurement of Chromebook laptops.
The other defendants are former Technology Consultant at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ibrahim Arief; Director of Junior Secondary Education at the Ministry in 2020–2021 and Budget User Authority (KPA) Mulyatsyah; and Director of Primary Education at the Ministry in 2020–2021 and Budget User Authority, Sri Wahyuningsih.
During his examination as a key witness, Nadiem explained and refuted several accusations directed at himself and the three other defendants.
“It is not true (that I created the Mas Menteri Core Team group). I created the group, but it was called Edu Org,” Nadiem stated at the Corruption Court in Jakarta on Tuesday (10 March 2026).
Nadiem said he did indeed create a WhatsApp group in August 2019 after learning that he could potentially be appointed as Education Minister.
The group was named ‘Edu Org’ and served as a place for Nadiem to prepare himself in case he was formally sworn in as minister.
Members of ‘Edu Org’ were people whom Nadiem believed had the capability to discuss education matters.
They would also likely be asked to assist Nadiem if he became minister.
“I created this group by prioritising people from various fields of expertise who had a strong possibility and motivation to join the team in carrying out education transformation,” he added.
After Nadiem was officially sworn in as Education Minister, replacing Muhadjir Effendy, the ‘Edu Org’ group was renamed ‘Mas Menteri Core Team’.
Several members of this WhatsApp group became ministerial special staff, namely Jurist Tan and Fiona Handayani.
Nadiem explained the reasons for recruiting Fiona and Jurist as his special staff.
The Centre for Education Studies and Policy Foundation (PSPK) is a non-profit organisation that serves as a partner to many ministries, including the Education Ministry.
Additionally, Fiona previously served as part of the team of the Governor of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government during Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s administration, also known as Ahok.
“Fiona’s experience at PSPK demonstrates her deep knowledge of education transformation,” Nadiem said.
“That is why Fiona was appointed as special staff for strategic issues related to schools and school teams, and Jurist became special staff in the governance field,” Nadiem continued.
Nadiem also claimed that his two former subordinates had a strong passion for education.
“From my experience, people who are passionate about a particular field, if they are intelligent and competent, have extraordinary learning capacity. And I would always choose someone willing to learn, even without relevant background, if they are competent and willing to learn,” Nadiem concluded.