Jakarta, Indonesia – The Attorney General’s Office has named four suspects in connection with alleged corruption surrounding the procurement of 1.2 million laptops for Indonesian schools between 2019 and 2022, a program spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The inquiry centers on a Rp9.3 trillion (approximately $600 million USD) project intended to provide learning resources, particularly in the contry’s 3T areas – regions designated as underdeveloped, outermost, and frontier.
Among those implicated are three individuals who previously served as subordinates to Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim.The suspects-Mulyatsyah (Director of the Ministry of Education and Culture, 2020-2021), Sri Wahyuningsih (Director of SD Kemendikbudristek 2020-2021), jurist Tan (former Staff of Minister Makarim), and Ibrahim Arief (former technology consultant at the Ministry of Research and Technology)-face accusations of inflating laptop prices and incurring losses through software procurement. The alleged state losses total Rp1.98 trillion (approximately $127 million USD), comprised of Rp480 billion in software-related losses and a Rp1.5 trillion markup on the laptop costs.
The Ministry of Education and Culture selected Chromebooks, running the Chrome operating system, for the nationwide distribution. Critics have questioned this decision, citing the limited functionality of the devices in many 3T areas due to a lack of reliable internet access. The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its investigation, and further developments are expected as the case proceeds.