No Record of VP Gibran's Education in Singapore and Australia, Court Told - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Education attachés at the Indonesian embassies in Singapore and Australia revealed that there were no documents related to the educational history of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka in both countries.
This revelation came during an evidentiary hearing for the 2024 presidential election result dispute (PHPU) at the Constitutional Court on Friday, October 2, 2026, which challenges the legitimacy of Gibran's vice-presidential candidacy.
During the session, the judges called upon education attachés representing the Indonesian embassies in Singapore and Australia to present their findings.
Nur Aini Ariyanti, the education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, stated that officials found no documentation regarding Gibran’s schooling in the city-state. She delivered her testimony in response to an inquiry from Constitutional Court Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra regarding the embassy’s academic archives.
"After searching through available files, we found no records stored at the embassy, Your Honor," Nur Aini testified via teleconference during the hearing in Jakarta on Friday.
According to General Elections Commission (KPU) records, Gibran completed his secondary schooling at Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore between 2002 and 2004. Established in January 1999, the school is situated in the Woodlands precinct.
Following his time at Orchid Park, Gibran pursued studies at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) in 2007. MDIS is a private institution offering preparatory courses alongside diploma, degree, and postgraduate programs across diverse disciplines.
Gibran subsequently studied technology at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Insearch in Australia from 2004 to 2007. UTS Insearch has since been rebranded as UTS College. Despite his technical background, Gibran initially ventured into catering and wedding organizing before stepping into politics.
Echoing her counterpart in Singapore, Yuli Rahmawati, the education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, confirmed that no academic records for Gibran were found in Australia. Yuli noted that the search extended across the archives of the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Sydney.
"Based on our review of both physical and digital archives, we have no record of any application submitted by Pak Gibran," Yuli stated.
The evidentiary hearing for case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026, filed by Denny Indrayana and co-petitioners, remains ongoing. The lawsuit challenges Gibran’s Educational Equivalency Certificate No. 9149/D.D1/KP/2019, issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture on August 16, 2019.
The certificate deems the overseas education of former President Joko Widodo’s eldest son at UTS Insearch equivalent to an Indonesian vocational high school (SMK) diploma in Accounting and Finance.
Denny Indrayana stated that his legal team is compiling further evidence to substantiate claims of administrative defects in Gibran’s candidacy registration. "We are finding new evidence every day," Denny said on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
According to Denny, petitioners have submitted roughly 160 items of evidence to the panel of judges in stages. During the initial hearing on September 21, 2026, the team presented 120 items of evidence, a figure that has grown in subsequent sessions.
Denny argued that the equivalency certificate lacks proof of senior high school graduation, raising serious concerns of procedural irregularities. He also pointed to the unusually swift issuance of the document, which was completed in under 24 hours.
"The application was submitted on August 6 and was completed on the same day. In fact, the normal process usually requires a minimum of five working days," Denny explained.
Meanwhile, co-petitioner Bonatua Silalahi added that the ministry’s equivalency certificate serves as a central piece of evidence. Bonatua also submitted KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 as supporting evidence. He contended that revisions to the KPU rule point to the manipulation of candidacy criteria, specifically regarding high school equivalency requirements for overseas graduates.
