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Resty Woro Yuniar

For many Indonesians who have built careers abroad, Nadiem Makarim once represented a particular kind of homecoming success story.
The Brown and Harvard University-educated co-founder of Gojek had walked away from the start-up world to serve in government, bringing with him the aura of Indonesia’s technology boom and the promise that private-sector talent could help modernise the state.
Now, with prosecutors seeking an 18-year prison sentence for the former education minister in a corruption case linked to school laptop procurements, his trial has prompted some among the Indonesian diaspora to question whether the risks of public service outweigh the rewards.
Prosecutors have portrayed the charges as a “white-collar crime” that inflicted heavy losses on the state, alleging Nadiem manipulated procurement processes during his time as education minister from 2019 to 2024.
Nadiem has denied all wrongdoing, with his lawyers insisting prosecutors have not shown evidence of criminal intent, financial gain or actual losses to the Indonesian state.

The case centres on the education ministry’s procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools in remote and underdeveloped regions between 2019 and 2022.
Prosecutors have alleged that Nadiem manipulated the procurement process by pushing the ministry towards Chromebooks despite his predecessor deeming the laptops, which rely on cloud computing and Google’s operating system, unsuitable for remote regions in 2018. They allege that the procurement caused losses to the state of 1.56 trillion rupiah (US$88.3 million).
On May 13, prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office demanded that Nadiem be jailed for 18 years, fined 1 billion rupiah and ordered to reimburse the government more than 5.6 trillion rupiah – with an additional nine years of imprisonment should he fail to pay.
Roy Riady, a prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office, said in court that the amount of restitution represented “the defendant’s assets that are disproportionate to their legitimate income or are suspected to be derived from corruption”.
‘Very, very, very disappointing’
Prosecutors also alleged during the trial, which started in January, that the Chromebook purchases served Nadiem’s personal interests, as Google was an investor in Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa, Gojek’s parent company at the time.
Google has denied any involvement in the case. “We have not offered, promised or provided benefits to education ministry officials in exchange for their decision to adopt Google products,” the tech giant said in a statement on January 9.
Nadiem co-founded Gojek in 2010 and served as its chief executive until 2019, when he resigned to join former president Joko Widodo’s second term cabinet. Under him, Gojek grew into the country’s first “decacorn” – a tech company valued at more than US$10 billion – and provided employment to millions of ride-hail and delivery drivers.
Two of Nadiem’s former subordinates at the ministry, as well as a technology consultant, have been sentenced to between four and four years six months in prison in the same case. Jurist Tan, Nadiem’s former special adviser, remains at large after being named as a suspect in August.

Nadiem himself has expressed frustration over what he called a “very, very, very disappointing” prosecution. “The [amount] of money that I have to repay is far above the wealth that I have,” he told reporters after the trial.
His net worth upon leaving office was “no more than 500 billion rupiah”, he said. “That automatically means I’m being charged by the prosecutor’s office with 28 years in prison. For what? There were no administrative errors whatsoever. There was no corruption whatsoever.”
The calculation for the restitution was based on “fictional wealth”, the 41-year-old said, as it represented “the peak of my wealth” during Gojek’s initial public offering.
Dodi Abdulkadir, one of Nadiem’s lawyers, said in a statement on May 14 that prosecutors had not found evidence of “malice (mens rea), financial flows to Nadiem, and state losses”.
Scared to return
For some Indonesians overseas, the case has become a cautionary tale of the legal uncertainty that can follow time in public office, complicating Jakarta’s efforts to draw skilled citizens home.
Successive governments have urged skilled Indonesians living and working abroad to bring their expertise home, hoping that foreign-trained professionals can help improve public institutions and support the country’s ambition of becoming a developed economy by 2045.
But Nadiem’s trial has complicated that pitch, especially for those who saw him as living proof that a global education and a private-sector career could translate into public service.
He is not the first prominent Western-educated official to be brought to trial, either. Some observers have drawn direct parallels between Nadiem’s case and the recent prosecution of fellow Harvard graduate Tom Lembong, who was imprisoned for four years six months and fined 750 million rupiah in July 2025 over corruption linked to sugar imports while he was trade minister. He was pardoned a month later by President Prabowo Subianto.

For some diaspora members, returning to Indonesia and entering public service is now off the cards for fear of meeting the same fate.
“I don’t want to go home. I have no intention of returning and using my skills to work in Indonesia. I’m actually scared,” said Budi, a data analyst who has worked in Malaysia for nearly a decade and spoke on condition that only a pseudonym be used. “I think the demand for [sentencing] against Nadiem is too excessive.”
The 33-year-old said he had a “good enough salary, good infrastructure and a good life” in Malaysia, adding that he was now reconsidering his plans to work for the Indonesian government. “I’m afraid of making a wrong move, because it could snowball into things we don’t want, so I’m a bit apprehensive.”
I’m reconsidering working for the government, I’m afraid of making a wrong move
Budi, an Indonesian working in Malaysia
Germany-based content creator Pieter Patonedi also said that going back to Indonesia was “no longer an option”.
“Many among the Indonesian diaspora around the world see someone who graduated from Brown University and Harvard, who was willing to return to his country to create a lot of jobs, boosting the Indonesian economy, but then prosecuted for corruption. His [proposed] sentence is ridiculous, 18 years,” Patonedi said in a social media video posted on May 15.
“If more and more intelligent and competent people see this, they’ll refuse to join the government. Even worse, they don’t want to return to [Indonesia], they’ll simply change their citizenship. In the end, who will remain in government? Those who play safe, those who obey, and those entrusted [by officials].”

Hempri Suyatna, a lecturer of social development and welfare studies at Gadjah Mada University, said a “truly fair and just” legal and political system was among the non-financial factors diaspora members considered before returning to Indonesia.
“Our political and legal systems aren’t yet pro-achievers. That is a challenge. Many of those who become officials are those with insider connections and relatives of those in power. Our merit system needs to be improved,” Hempri said.
He added that if the government could not reverse the country’s “brain drain”, then its vision of turning Indonesia into a developed nation by 2045 would stall.
“Our smart, intellectual talents are fleeing abroad. The government needs to start thinking about improving governance across various agencies, so that people will feel comfortable living in Indonesia and pursuing careers here.”


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As Nadiem Makarim stares down an 18-year prison term, Indonesians abroad are asking whether public service back home is a legal liability


As Nadiem Makarim stares down an 18-year prison term, Indonesians abroad are asking whether public service back home is a legal liability.


Why Gojek co-founder’s trial is alarming Indonesians overseas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Nadiem Makarim stares down an 18-year prison term, Indonesians abroad are asking whether public service back home is a legal liability

As Nadiem Makarim stares down an 18-year prison term, Indonesians abroad are asking whether public service back home is a legal liability