AN Indonesian appeals court has cut the corruption sentence of Nadiem Makarim by a year, but the tech founder vowed to have the Supreme Court quash his conviction entirely.
Nadiem, the co-founder of ride-hailing app Gojek and a former minister, was sentenced to 10 years in June for graft tied to procurement of laptops for schools during the pandemic.
An appeals court in the capital Jakarta reduced his sentence to nine years and cut the amount of restitution Nadiem must pay from 809 billion rupiah (RM184mil) to 549 billion rupiah (RM125mil).
Nadiem, 42, who is seeking to have his conviction overturned, told media after the ruling yesterday that he would take his case to the Supreme Court.
Nadiem, an Ivy League graduate, quit Gojek to become one of Indonesia’s youngest Cabinet members in 2019, and served as education minister until 2024.
He was found guilty of corruption and abuse of authority by changing tender requirements to favour the purchase of Google Chromebooks for schools to aid remote learning during Covid-19, resulting in US$120mil in state losses. — AFP
