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View all search resultsNadiem warns of chilling effect on talent in defense plea
"An entire generation is holding its breath, waiting for the panel's decision; waiting for confirmation of whether truth still means something in our beloved country," Nadiem says.
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Former education minister and graft defendant Nadiem Makarim looks on the camera during a hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Jakarta on May 11, 2026. The former minister, who is also known as a co-founder of ride-hailing app Gojek, is standing trial on corruption charges pertaining to the procurement of Chromebook laptops for schoolchildren during his tenure in the education ministry. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
F
ormer education minister Nadiem Makarim delivered his defense plea at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Tuesday, urging the panel of judges to acquit him of corruption charges and warning that his prosecution risked discouraging a generation of talented young professionals from entering public service.
Arriving at the Central Jakarta District Court wearing a Gojek driver jacket before changing into a blue batik shirt – a gesture widely read as solidarity with the platform workers who have publicly rallied behind him – Nadiem took roughly an hour to deliver his personal plea, which ran to 30 to 40 pages.
His legal team then followed with a presentation running nearly 1,400 pages, delivered in part through video evidence and slides.
"Young professionals are now afraid they will become the next victims," Nadiem said in his plea, livestreamed on Youtube and covered by major broadcasters.
"An entire generation is holding its breath, waiting for the panel's decision; waiting for confirmation of whether truth still means something in our beloved country."
He argued that the prosecution had its roots not in genuine wrongdoing but in bureaucratic resentment, what he described as resistance from entrenched interests whose livelihoods had been disrupted by the influx of younger, reform-oriented officials he had brought into the then-education, culture, research and technology ministry.
"My advice to the next generation considering public service: find a balance between professionalism and political etiquette," he said. "Because [in politics], small slights have long memories."
