Allah Akan Protect Saya, Suara Nadiem Makarim Bantah Korupsi Chromebook Saat Diring Petugas

JAKARTA - Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Makarim denied being involved in the alleged corruption case in the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops in the education digitization program of the Ministry of Education and Culture for the 2019-2022 period.

Nadiem conveyed the objection when investigators escorted him from the Jampidsus Roundabout Building to the detention car, Thursday, September 4. Wearing a pink vest typical of the Attorney General's Office detainee, Nadiem confirmed that he was innocent.

"I didn't do anything. God will protect me, the truth will come out. Allah will know the truth," said Nadiem.

He said the values of integrity and honesty were the main principles in his life, so it was impossible for him to be involved in corrupt practices.

For me, throughout my life, integrity number one, honesty number one. Allah will protect me, God willing," said Nadiem.

Not to forget, he left a message to his wife and children to remain strong in facing the case that ensnared him.

"For my family and my four toddlers, strengthen yourself. The truth will be shown. Allah protects me, Allah knows the truth," he said.

Nadiem is the fifth suspect in the alleged corruption case in the procurement of this laptop. The other four suspects are Mulyatsyah, former Director of SMP Kemendikbudristek; Sri Wahyuningsih, former Director of the Ministry of Education and Culture Elementary School; Ibrahim Arief, technology consultant Kemendikbudristek; and Jurist Tan, former special staff of the Minister of Education and Culture.

In this case, Nadiem was charged with Article 2 paragraph 1 or Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Eradication of Corruption in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.

The case stems from the procurement program for information and communication technology (ICT) for PAUD to SMA levels in 2020-2022, especially in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas. At that time, the Ministry of Education and Culture allocated a budget of IDR 9.3 trillion from the APBN and special allocation funds (DAK) to provide 1.2 million Chromebook laptop units.

However, according to the Attorney General's Office, the procurement goal was not achieved. Chromebook devices are considered to have many weaknesses, especially because they depend heavily on the internet connection. In fact, internet access in the 3T region is not evenly distributed. As a result, procurement is considered detrimental to state finances.