JAKARTA - The continuation of the case of alleged corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops at the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2019-2022 was held again at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday, April 21. During the trial, former Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim appeared emotional and even cried after following the series of trials.
Nadiem admitted that he was exhausted from undergoing the legal process which had been going on for some time, especially with his health condition which was said to be unstable.
"I just want this to end, I'm tired," said Nadiem while crying at the side of the trial.
This time the trial featured education and career expert Ina Setiawati Liem and seven witnesses from the ranks of teachers who are said to have received benefits from the education digitization program. A number of parties also attended to provide support, including families, relatives, and online motorcycle drivers.
During the trial, Nadiem assessed that expert testimony actually showed irony in the case that entangled him. He highlighted the use of *chrome device management* (CDM) which was considered an effort to increase transparency, but was actually questioned in the indictment.
"CDM is called total loss to the state, even though it is a way to ensure transparency so that there is no budget leakage," he said.
He also emphasized that the Chromebook procurement program was carried out with consideration for budget efficiency, including because the price of the device is cheaper and the use of software is free of charge.
"This is a paradox, the intention is to clean up corruption, but he is accused of corruption," he said.
In this case, the public prosecutor accused Nadiem of being involved in alleged corruption with a state loss of up to IDR 2.1 trillion. The details include the alleged high price of Chromebooks of IDR 1.5 trillion and the procurement of CDM which was deemed unnecessary worth IDR 621 billion. Nadiem is also said to have received a flow of funds of IDR 809.5 billion.
This trial will continue with the agenda of examining witnesses and further proving from both parties in the coming week. This case has become a public spotlight because it is related to a large-value national education digitization program.
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