Nadiem Examined Again About Chromebooks, AGO Explores Alleged Procurement Directions

Kapuspenkum AGO Harli Siregar/DOK IST

JAKARTA - Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Makarim is again undergoing examination by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) regarding the alleged corruption case in the Chrome OS or Chromebook-based laptop procurement project.

Head of the Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum) of the Attorney General's Office, Harli Siregar, said investigators would explore a number of aspects of the project, including possible directives in the procurement process.

"Of course there are many things, for example whether there are directions in the procurement process, and so on," said Harli in Jakarta, Tuesday, July 15.

The inspection will also highlight aspects of planning, implementation, and supervision in the procurement of Chromebooks.

The main focus is to explore whether the supervisory function is carried out optimally during the project.

"Investigators are exploring how the supervisory function is carried out in the procurement of Chromebooks," added Harli.

When asked about the possibility of Nadiem being named a suspect, Harli was reluctant to comment. He emphasized that the decision was entirely under the authority of the investigator and must be based on sufficient evidence.

"We have no information (about the determination of the suspect)," he said briefly.

Nadiem was supposed to be questioned on July 8, but the examination was postponed at the request of his attorney. The last examination was carried out on Monday, June 23, for about 12 hours from 09.00 to 21.00 WIB.

"As many as 31 main questions that in the process also develop into further questions and affirmations," said Harli.

One of the focuses of the investigation is the alleged malicious consensus in the preparation of technical studies that led to the decision to use Chromebooks, although previously there was an assessment that the device was ineffective.

"In 2019 there has been a trial of 1,000 Chromebook units by the Ministry of Education and Culture's Pustekkom. The results are considered ineffective and the technical team recommends the Windows operating system," explained Harli.

However, in mid-2020, a new technical study emerged which actually pushed for the reuse of Chromebooks.

This laptop procurement project attracted a budget of around Rp9.98 trillion. Of that amount, around Rp3.58 trillion comes from education unit funds (DSP), and the remaining Rp6.39 trillion comes from special allocation funds (DAK).

The AGO stated that investigations are still ongoing to explore the roles of various parties in making decisions, including the possibility of intervention in technical studies.