JAKARTA: The prosecution of former education minister Nadiem Makarim, an Ivy League graduate who left Indonesia’s first unicorn start-up Gojek, which he cofounded, to serve in government, is fueling unease among young Indonesians overseas who now question whether returning home is worth the risk.
For some, the case has deepened anxieties over whether talented and highly-educated professionals can safely contribute to the country without being entangled in what they see as an unpredictable legal and political system.
“Nadiem’s case showed intelligent people with integrity being harmed [by the state]. It honestly makes me afraid to come home and contribute because the bureaucracy is still bad and there are still many corrupt practices,” Andari, a 27-year-old Indonesian graduate student in Melbourne who asked to use a pseudonym, told The Jakarta Post on Monday (May 18).
“It does make me wonder, if I go back home, would the government support me?” she added.
Similarly, 30-year-old graduate student Petir, who also requested a pseudonym, said Nadiem’s trial had diminished his interest in contributing through government institutions despite previously considering a long-term public service career.
Petir, a civil servant at a ministry, said he had witnessed how office politics often prioritised “seeking superiors’ approval” over merit for promotions and prestige.
“Nadiem’s case further cemented my [pessimistic] view [of the government]. I prefer to live abroad, no longer work in government and contribute to Indonesia through other means with my own hands,” Petir told the Post from Melbourne.
While still awaiting the court’s final verdict, former GoTo employee Lintang said he was also weighing whether remaining in Singapore as a research assistant would offer greater appreciation and stability for his work compared with returning to Indonesia.
“At the end of the day, I would choose whichever country appreciates the results of my work more,” the 27-year-old said, adding that he was among the millions “blessed” with opportunities in the tech industry because of Nadiem’s company.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) demanded last Wednesday that the Jakarta Corruption Court sentence Nadiem to 18 years in prison for alleged corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools between 2019 and 2022, a project prosecutors said caused Rp 2.18 trillion (US$124.4 million) in state losses.
Prosecutors accused Nadiem of approving procurement specifications tailored toward Google Chromebooks despite internal assessments suggesting otherwise.
He was also accused of indirectly benefiting through Google’s investment ties with Gojek’s then-parent company PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, although the company was not involved in the procurement.
The AGO also demanded that Nadiem pay Rp 5.6 trillion in restitution to the state and Rp 1 billion in fines.
The former minister has denied any wrongdoing, insisting prosecutors failed to prove he personally enriched himself and describing the sentence sought as a “harsher punishment than those commonly handed to murderers or terrorism convicts”.
Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent human rights lawyer, described the sentence demand as “insane” and drew parallels between Nadiem’s case and that of former trade minister Thomas Lembong, who initially received a 4.5-year prison sentence in a sugar import graft case before later being granted presidential abolition last year.
“Both are public officials being criminalised for policy decisions that were actually within their prerogative,” Todung said last week, arguing that the legal construction built by prosecutors was flawed because “there was no evidence” that Nadiem personally enriched himself through the project.
Nadiem cofounded local ride-hailing giant Gojek in 2010 before stepping down as chief executive in 2019 to join then-president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo’s cabinet as education minister, a post he held until 2024.
He studied at leading institutions abroad, earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Under his leadership, Gojek became one of South-East Asia’s largest technology companies before later merging with local e-commerce firm Tokopedia into GoTo Group. However, his tenure in government drew mixed reactions over reforms such as the Merdeka Curriculum, which allowed students flexibility in choosing subjects based on their strengths. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
