Jakarta,Indonesia – Education โขand Cultureโ Minister Nadiem Makarim has been named a suspectโ by the Attorney general’s Office (AGO) in a corruption case involving alleged state financialโ losses linked toโ Dataโ and โCommunication โคTechnology โฃ(ICT) โคactivities. Makarim was arrested immediately following questioning,โ according toโค Director ofโฃ Inquiry (Dirdik) Jampidsus AGO, Nurcahyo Jungkung Madyo.The โคalleged financial loss to โขthe state is โcurrently estimated โat approximately โRp 1,980,000,000,000 (roughlyโ $128 million USD), though the Financial and Progress Supervisory Agency (BPKP) is stillโค finalizing the calculation. The โcase centers on potential irregularities in the procurement andโ implementation of โICT infrastructure โคwithin theโค Ministry of Education and โขCulture. Makarim faces charges under Article 2 paragraph 1 orโ Articleโฃ 3 in conjunction with Article 18 โof Law โNumber 31 of 1999, asโฃ amended by Law Number โ20โ ofโข 2001, concerning the eradication ofโ corruption crimes,โ and alsoโข Article 55 paragraph 1โ of โฃthe Criminal Code.
Prior to naming Makarim a suspect, the AGO had already identified and โcharged four other individuals: Sriโ wahyuningsih,โฃ Director of Elementary Schoolโ atโข the Directorate General of Earlyโข Childhood Education, Basic Education and โSecondary โEducation (2020-2021); Mulyatsyah, Director of SMP at the Ministry of Education and Culture โ(Kemendikbudristek) โคin 2020; Jurist โฃTan, a Special Staff to the Minister; andโฃ Ibrahim Arief, an individualโข consultant for the design of school resource management technology โinfrastructure โimprovements.
The investigation and subsequent โฃcharges againstโ Minister Makarim raise questions about accountabilityโ and transparency within the Indonesian education system and โคcouldโ lead to significant reforms inโ procurement โprocesses. The case โisโฃ ongoing, and further developments are expected as โthe BPKP โฃcompletesโ its assessment of the totalโค financialโ losses and the AGO prepares for trial.