JAKARTA: Indonesian prosecutors said on Wednesday (May 13) they were seeking an 18-year prison sentence for Nadiem Makarim, a former Indonesian education minister and co-founder of ride-hailing firm Gojek, over his involvement in a corruption case.He is alleged to have been involved in improper laptop procurement during the pandemic, which led to US$125.64 million in state losses.If granted, the 18-year prison sentence would be one of the toughest punishments imposed on a former minister in recent years.Nadiem, who resigned as chief executive of ride-hailing company Gojek in 2019 to serve as education minister until 2024, has been accused of enriching himself by around 809 billion rupiah (US$46.33 million) through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome OS for schools between 2020 and 2022, prosecutors have said.
Nadiem created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to "make Google the sole controller of education ecosystem in Indonesia", prosecutors alleged.In a hearing on Wednesday in a Central Jakarta corruption court, prosecutors said Nadiem's role in the case while serving as a minister violated the government's anti-corruption pledges and harmed the education system.
