A panel of judges sentenced former Indonesian Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, to 10 years in prison, with the judges stating that Makarim’s actions in the alleged Chromebook procurement corruption case were premeditated.
Makarim’s sentencing hearing was held at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, 30th of June. The judges declared him guilty of corruption as charged by the prosecutor.
“The defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim has been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption committed jointly as charged by the prosecutor,” said the presiding judge, Purwanto S. Abdullah, while reading the verdict.
The judges found Makarim guilty as charged under Article 604 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Corruption Law, in conjunction with Article 20, letter c, of Law No. 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. In addition to 10 years in prison, the judges also sentenced Makarim to a fine of Rp1 billion, or a subsidiary sentence of 190 days in prison. Moreover, Makarim was also ordered to pay restitution of Rp809.5 billion.
The judges also outlined the aggravating circumstances in Makarim’s case. According to the judges, his actions were premeditated.
“The aggravating circumstances are that the actions were carried out in a planned, structured, and systematic manner, resulting in enormous state losses and having a broad impact on the provision of education, especially for children in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions,” said the presiding judge.
In response to the sentencing, Makarim said that he will appeal his 10-year prison sentence, asserting the importance of continuing to move forward for the sake of the truth, young people, professionals out there, and all honest people who are criminalised.
“I will not stop. Please [for your] prayer, support, your voice, and your courage,” said Makarim when giving a statement to the media after the verdict hearing.
Makarim’s alleged corruption involved, among other things, the procurement of information and communication technology-based learning resources, including Chromebook laptops and CDMs, in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years, in violation of procurement planning and procurement principles. His actions were allegedly carried out jointly with three other defendants who were convicted in separate trials: Ibrahim Arief a.k.a. Ibam, Mulyatsyah, and Sri Wahyuningsih, as well as Jurist Tan, who remains at large as of this writing.