Indonesian police say they are examining complaint over Vice-President Gibran's education equivalence letter
A National Police spokesperson said Bareskrim will use Constitutional Court and Supreme Court rulings and expert input as it reviews public complaints about the equivalence letter used for Gibran Rakabuming Raka's 2024 candidacy. No suspect has been named.
Indonesia's National Police said on 3 November that its Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) is still examining public complaints about the school education equivalence letter used by Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka when he registered as a candidate in the 2024 election.
The document is an equivalence certificate, numbered 9149/DDII/KS/2019, issued by the education ministry, now the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Reports by VIVA and Okezone said the complaints question its validity as proof that he met the education requirement for candidacy.
What police said
National Police public relations chief Inspector General Johnny Eddizon Isir said reports received by Bareskrim would go through the stages required by procedure. He said investigators would use rulings of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court as references and might seek the views of criminal-law and other experts.
Isir said each legal argument had to be assessed against the elements of an offence and the available evidence. He asked the public to follow the process and to trust investigators to carry out their work.
Status of the matter
The police have not named any suspect and have not announced charges. At this stage the matter is a complaint under review, and no court or authority has found the letter to be forged. Media reports said one complaint was filed in early October 2026 by a group of advocates.
Why equivalence documents matter
Equivalence letters are used when a person studied in a foreign system and needs official recognition that the qualification matches a national level. Because they are issued by government departments rather than schools, disputes over them usually turn on the issuing office's own records and the rules in force when the letter was granted. Anyone relying on such a document should confirm it with the issuing ministry and keep copies of the underlying foreign certificates.
This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.
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