Latest news with #NadiemMakarim
Barnama
16 hours ago
- Business
- Barnama
Top News Headlines In Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore & Vietnam: June 21, 2025
TO SUMMON FORMER MINISTER NADIEM IN RP 9.9T CHROMEBOOK CORRUPTION CASE -- JAKARTA GLOBE WELCOMES NEW AGE WITH GLOBAL AMBITIONS -- THE JAKARTA POST Former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim has been summoned by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for questioning on Monday, June 23, as part of a corruption probe into the Education Ministry's Rp 9.98 trillion (US$615 million) Chromebook procurement project. Jakarta will mark its 498th anniversary this weekend with a renewed vision of transforming into a global centre for trade, services, finance and business, even as the city faces persistent questions about its livability and its impending loss of capital status. PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY -- THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR The Election Commission held a meeting to ensure the polls are conducted transparently without any fraud. Voting machines that are being produced will be transported and stored in the respective regions and states. ENTERING CHINESE MARKET RISING -- THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Nearly 1,755 food processing companies have applied to the General Administration of Customs of China for a licence to enter the market as of June 13. Registration is mandatory for food exporters to China. SINGAPORE AHEAD: HOW USED COOKING OIL COULD HINDER AVIATION'S GREEN FUEL HOPES -- THE STRAITS TIMES This is the starting point for the world's – and especially Europe's – lofty dreams of greener air travel: a collection point for plastic bottles filled with discarded frying oil in Malaysia. SAYS IRAN HAS 'MAXIMUM' TWO WEEKS, DISMISSES EUROPE PEACE EFFORTS -- CNA/AFP US President Donald Trump said Friday (Jun 20) that Iran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes, as Israel claimed it has already set back Iran's presumed nuclear programme by at least two years. VIETNAM RULES TO MANAGE GOLD TRADING -- VIETNAMPLUS The State Bank of Vietnam is mulling stricter regulations on gold trading. Bank transfers are required for gold transactions worth RM3,253 (US$765) and above to promote transparency and verify customer identities. TAX PRESSURES SHIPPING SECTOR -- VIETNAM NEWS The International Maritime Organisation's policy to cut greenhouse emissions from ships could burden Vietnam's shipping industry. Vessels emitting carbon dioxide beyond the mandatory limits would face a tax of RM16,164 (US$380) per metric tonne when the policy is implemented in 2028. -- BERNAMA BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies. Follow us on social media : Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio Twitter : @ @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial TikTok : @bernamaofficial
The Star
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Alleged laptop procurement graft puts ex-minister Nadiem in spotlight
Former education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim (centre) sits next to his lawyers Hotman Paris Hutapea (right) and Mohamad Ali Nurdin (left) during a press briefing in Jakarta. The former minister dismissed allegations of corruption pertaining to the Google Chromebook laptop procurement project in his ministry between 2019 and 2022. - Antara via The Jakarta Post/ANN JAKARTA: After finishing his term as former president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's education minister, Nadiem Makarim is back in the public spotlight in the Attorney General's Office's (AGO) investigation into alleged corruption pertaining to a procurement project during his ministerial tenure. Investigators with the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Extraordinary Crimes (Jampidsus) launched an investigation in May into alleged graft related to the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops by the then-education, culture, research and technology ministry between 2019 and 2022. Investigators interrogated at least 28 witnesses. Among them was Fiona Handayani, one of Nadiem's special staffers, who was summoned by the AGO on Tuesday (June 10) for an interrogation session. The AGO previously confiscated her laptop and mobile phones during a raid last month. AGO spokesperson Harli Siregar said that investigators planned to call in two of Nadiem's other former special staffers, identified as Jurist Tan and Ibrahim Arief, for questioning this week Investigators also seized their phones and computers as well as other documents from their houses during a recent raid. The AGO also slapped the three former special staffers with a travel ban on June 4, as they failed to fulfil a summons for an interrogation. According to the AGO, the procurement cost around Rp 9.9 trillion (US$607 million), around two-thirds of which was taken from a special allocated fund originally earmarked to be transferred by the central government to regional administrations. Harli said that investigators found indications of collusion to procure Chromebook laptops to be distributed to schools around the country. The Google-based laptops were picked despite initial tests in 2018 by the ministries' research team that discouraged the use of laptops because of their lack of effectiveness in regions without internet connections. He added that investigators also probed an allegation of price markup for the laptop. While Jampidsus investigators already had the name of five vendors allegedly involved in the case, Harli did not elaborate further on Google's role in the illicit practice. A representative of Google Indonesia was not immediately available to respond to The Jakarta Post's request for comment. The Jampidsus investigators were still looking for the people managing the procurement project as well as the mastermind who first proposed the idea. During a press briefing on Tuesday, Nadiem denied allegations of collusion to favour the Chromebook over other laptops. He also rebuked claims that his ministry dismissed the 2018 study outlining the laptop's disadvantage, claiming that the research was done before he took office in October 2024 and focussed on gadgets for schools in less developed and remote areas. 'Meanwhile, the laptop procurement during my term of office was not targeted for remote and less developed areas,' Nadiem said in the televised press conference. He added that the gadgets were intended to prevent 'learning loss' among students in areas with established digital infrastructure and internet connections during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as to help educators in their teaching process. Nadiem picked famed lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea to represent him in the matter. The lawyer argued that allegations made by AGO investigators missed the mark. 'Nadiem never veered [from the study's results] because the study [and Nadiem's Chromebook procurement] were two different projects. They cannot be linked to each other,' Hotman said. The former education minister further claimed the programme was a success, with 97 per cent of the 1.1 million Chromebook laptops procured during his term delivered to 77,000 schools by 2023. He also claimed that his ministry undertook a 'periodic census' to count the laptops. Despite dismissing the allegations of involvement in the case, Nadiem said that he was 'ready to cooperate' and support investigators by providing needed information or clarification on the investigation. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Alleged laptop procurement graft puts ex-Indonesia education minister Nadiem in spotlight
Investigators also probed an allegation of price markup for the laptop. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY JAKARTA - After finishing his term as former president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's education minister Nadiem Makarim is back in the public spotlight in the Attorney General's Office's (AGO) investigation into alleged corruption pertaining to a procurement project during his ministerial tenure. Investigators with the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Extraordinary Crimes (Jampidsus) launched an investigation in May into alleged graft related to the procurement of Google Chromebook laptops by the then-education, culture, research and technology ministry between 2019 and 2022. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
