The rise and fall of Nadiem Makarim

Once considered a symbol of Indonesia's future, Nadiem Makarim has experienced a dramatic fall from grace.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) recently alleged he presided over losses amounting to Rp 1.8 trillion (US$110 million) during his tenure as education, culture, research, and technology minister from 2019 to 2024.

The 41-year-old Ivy League graduate comes from a prominent family. His father, Nono Anwar Makarim, is a renowned anti-corruption lawyer, while his maternal grandfather had been an independence fighter. The indictment has severely damaged the family's reputation.

Before his political career, Nadiem rose to prominence as the founder of the Gojek application, Indonesia's first "unicorn" start-up and a major innovation of the 2010s. He leveraged the digital revolution to transform local motorcycle services into an integrated mobile platform for ride-hailing and food delivery.

When he left his role as Gojek CEO in 2019 to join former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's cabinet, he brought his digitalization-focused mindset to reform the education sector, despite having no prior experience. His digitalization-focused mindset is ironically now at the heart of the allegations.

Nadiem is one of several former ministers from the previous administration currently facing corruption allegations. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Wednesday it was targeting the “top leadership” of the Religious Affairs Ministry in its investigations into alleged corruption over the haj pilgrimage 2023–2024 quota.

The illegal flow of money from the sale and purchase of quotas is suspected to have benefited various intermediaries, including officials at the highest level.

The KPK had apparently been referring to former religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. As part of the investigation, Yaqut has been barred from leaving the country.

The AGO has accused Nadiem of abusing his authority by mass-procuring Google Chromebook laptops without a proper tender process.

The AGO cited a feasibility study by his predecessor, Muhadjir Effendy, which concluded that the Chromebook laptops would be ineffective in remote and rural areas without reliable internet access.

Nadiem and his legal team have denied the allegations, saying he received no money from the program and that 97 percent of the Chromebooks were successfully delivered. He also claimed none of the 1.2 million laptops were sent to remote or rural areas lacking internet access.

Nadiem's attorney, Hotman Paris Hutapea, appealed to President Prabowo Subianto to intervene on Nadiem’s behalf.

However, this offer was rejected by the Presidential Communications Office head, Hasan Nasbi, who said the President would allow law enforcement to conduct their work.

Meanwhile, Nadiem has more issues to worry about. The KPK has launched a separate investigation into the education ministry’s exclusive use of Google Cloud services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time of Nadiem's ministerial appointment, Google provided a US$100 million investment in Gojek, fueling suspicions of a conflict of interest.

Furthermore, the AGO found an August 2019 group chat, showing discussions with his future staff for a digitalization program centered on Chromebook laptops, which had already been deliberated before Nadiem became minister.

While Nadiem’s aspiration for a digitalization program had been wise, his haste and failure to follow proper tender processes have led to growing suspicion of a conflict of interest.

With law enforcement agencies now pursuing Nadiem, it is unclear whether Prabowo will use his prerogative to exonerate him. Prabowo has previously exonerated former trade minister Thomas “Tom” Lembong and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto.

While those two cases had political undertones due to their rivalry with Jokowi, Nadiem has avoided public disputes with the former president.

This has led to speculation that his case may just be an example of greed.