Nadiem Makarim says he never approved Chromebook procurement

Nadiem Makarim / Photo provided

In his final defense statement on June 2, Nadiem Makarim said he had “never signed any document related to the Chromebook procurement under the ministry.”

He added that he was linked to the decision because his technical team invited him to a Zoom meeting in May 2020, during which they presented a recommendation to procure a mix of Windows- and Chrome OS-based devices amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The allegations stem from prosecutors’ claims that Makarim, the Gojek founder who served as Indonesia’s education minister from 2019 to 2022, was involved in an inflated procurement of Google Chromebook laptops for a classroom digitalization program.

Prosecutors estimate the state suffered losses of more than 2.1 trillion rupiah (US$118 million).

If convicted, Makarim could face up to 18 years in prison. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.

“The technical team later changed that recommendation to 100% Chrome OS without my knowledge,” he said. “Legally and administratively, this was not a ministerial decision. Moreover, there is no casual relationship between the policy and the alleged state losses.”

Instead, Makarim defended the ministry’s adoption of the Chrome operating system, arguing that it saved the government at least 3.9 trillion rupiah (US$218.8 million), “far more than the alleged losses.”

According to Makarim, the estimated cost per school would have been 148 million rupiah (US$8,300) if all laptops ran Windows, compared with 98 million rupiah (US$5,500) for a combination of Chrome OS and Windows devices.

He also argued that there had been “no element of state financial loss, no element of unlawful conduct, no element of self-enrichment, enrichment of others, or enrichment of any corporation” throughout the nearly year-long trial.

“I have learned that if even one of these elements is not proven, the defendant must be acquitted by law,” Makarim added. “With all due respect, in this case, not a single one of these elements has been proven.”

The trial has become one of Indonesia’s most high-profile corruption cases, with investors and tech companies closely watching the proceedings.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict later this month.

See also: Gojek founder trial exposes policy risk for Indonesia’s investors