This morning, after Nadiem was sentenced to 10 years in jail, it’s clear that Google needs to take a strong official stand.
The Indonesian judges sullied Google’s name, claiming without evidence the U.S. giant engaged in bribery to win a Chromebook laptop contract.
In this fiction, Google invested in Nadiem’s company, GoJek. In return, Nadiem, who left GoJek to become Education Minister, ordered the purchase of Chromebooks.
Prosecutors failed to put any evidence forward to back this defamatory allegation. Yet Nadiem got 10 years. Why? Because he tried to reform a corrupt ministry and made a lot of enemies.
How can Google remain silent in the face of these baseless allegations. Just because a judge said it, doesn’t make it any less defamatory.
I would expect Sapna Chadha and other senior Google leaders in the region to show the backbone to speak up now. Nadiem was Google’s trusted partner for years. They invested in his company. Will they remain quiet just to protect their business in Indonesia. Where are they in his time of need?