Jakarta. The newly enacted Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) will apply in the corruption trial of former Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim, as he seeks to have charges dismissed in a high-profile case over the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops.

During a preliminary hearing at Jakarta’s Corruption Court on Monday, Nadiem’s lawyers formally challenged the indictment in the Google Chromebook procurement case, which centers on the ministry’s education digitalization program between 2019 and 2022. Prosecutors accuse Nadiem of causing state losses of around Rp2.18 trillion ($119 million) through the procurement of Chromebook laptops and Chrome Device Management (CDM) services.

The court ruled that the case will proceed under Indonesia’s new Criminal Procedure Code, which took effect in January 2026.

Through his legal team, the co-founder of ride-hailing firm Gojek, asked judges to halt the proceedings, declare the indictment invalid, and order his immediate release from detention if the objection is upheld. His lawyers argued the charges are legally flawed and improperly attribute technical procurement decisions to a cabinet-level official.

“Nadiem Makarim did not have operational authority over procurement. His role was limited to setting policy direction,” defense lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir told the court.

Prosecutors said the idea of procuring Chromebook laptops had already emerged during the tenure of former minister Muhadjir Effendy, but was rejected at the time because the devices were deemed unsuitable for teaching and learning in Indonesia’s remote, outermost, and underdeveloped regions.

The defense countered that prosecutors wrongly claimed the Chromebook program targeted such areas, arguing that official guidelines limited Chromebook use to schools with adequate electricity and internet access. Lawyers also challenged the calculation of state losses, saying prosecutors treated the entire value of CDM procurement as a loss without considering benefits or fair pricing.

Nadiem’s legal team further questioned the timing and methodology of the state audit and argued the policy generated savings of at least Rp1.2 trillion, as ChromeOS does not require licensing fees, unlike Microsoft Windows.

Addressing the court, Nadiem said he was raised in a family that upheld integrity and anti-corruption values and that he accepted the ministerial post despite political and financial risks.

Between 2016 and 2019, the ministry worked with the Communications Ministry to expand internet access and digital learning tools in remote areas using Windows-based laptops. In 2018, Google for Education approached the ministry with an offer covering Chromebooks and related services. A pilot purchase of 1,000 Acer Chromebooks for remote areas later failed, with evaluations finding the devices could not be used effectively.

Prosecutors allege Nadiem initiated the Chromebook procurement together with technology consultant Ibrahim Arief, alongside Mulyatsyah and Sri Wahyuningsih, then directors at the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education, and Jurist Tan, a former special staff member to the minister who remains at large.

They claim the case involves inflated Chromebook prices of about Rp1.56 trillion and unnecessary CDM procurement valued at Rp621 billion. Prosecutors also allege Nadiem indirectly benefited from investments linked to ride-hailing firm Gojek’s parent company, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa — claims his lawyers strongly deny.

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