The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has clarified that it is not involved in an ongoing corruption investigation related to the procurement of Chromebook laptops during the tenure of former Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim.

“I have no knowledge of nor involvement in the matter,” Deputy Minister Atip Latiful Hayat said when contacted by Indonesia Business Post on Monday, June 2, 2025.

He asked the Post to ask the ministry's secretary general about the procurement process within the ministry. “Try asking the Secretary General,” Atip said.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is currently investigating suspected corruption in the procurement of laptops as part of a nationwide education digitalization project valued at Rp 9.9 trillion (US$615 million), carried out between 2019 and 2022. The case has implicated two former special staff members (stafsus) of then-Minister Nadiem Makarim.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti also emphasized that the alleged wrongdoing occurred in the early period of Nadiem's leadership and is no longer relevant to current programs.

“This happened during Mas Nadiem’s term and has nothing to do with what we are implementing today,” Mu’ti said as quoted on Friday, May 30, 2025.

The AGO has denied viral social media reports suggesting that former minister Nadiem Makarim had been placed on the wanted list (DPO) in connection to the Chromebook case. “We have never declared Nadiem a DPO,” AGO spokesman, Harli Siregar told reporters on Monday, June 2, 2025.

A video circulating on social platforms showed investigators from the Office of Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) conducting a search at an apartment. The video falsely claimed the apartment belonged to Nadiem and suggested he was being pursued by authorities.

Harli clarified that the search took place at properties owned by FH and JT, two of Nadiem’s former special staff, located in Kuningan Place and Ciputra World 2 Tower Orchard, respectively. “We did not conduct any search at Nadiem Makarim’s residence,” Harli stressed.

Investigators seized a range of materials from the two locations, including documents and electronic evidence, which are now under examination.

Procurement irregularities

The AGO suspects the case involved collusion and manipulation by parties involved in the procurement process to favor devices running Google’s Chromebook operating system, which was deemed unsuitable for many schools due to poor internet infrastructure across Indonesia.

“The devices required stable internet, which was not accessible in many regions at the time,” Harli said. He added that a trial of Chromebook usage in 2019 had already shown poor results.

The project, with a total budget of Rp9.9 trillion (US$626 million) reportedly consisted of Rp3.5 trillion (US$221 million) sourced from individual schools and Rp6.3 trillion (US$398 million) from the Special Allocation Fund (DAK).

The investigation began on May 20, 2025, and remains ongoing. AGO has yet to announce formal charges or detain any high-ranking officials, though analysts say further developments could have broader implications for procurement transparency in the education sector.