Education attachés from Indonesian embassies in Singapore and Australia testified in the Constitutional Court on October 2, 2026, revealing zero academic archives or application records for Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as petitioners press an ongoing election dispute over his high school equivalency credentials.
The validity of Indonesian Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s high school equivalency credentials faced intense scrutiny during an evidentiary hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta. The session, held on Friday, October 2, 2026, marked a critical phase in case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026, which challenges the legitimacy of Gibran’s 2024 vice-presidential candidacy as reported by Tempo.
Embassy Officials Report No Records in Singapore and Australia Archives
During the proceedings, the bench called upon education attachés representing Indonesian diplomatic missions abroad to present their findings regarding Gibran’s overseas schooling history. Nur Aini Ariyanti, the education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, informed Judge Saldi Isra that her office found no documentation concerning Gibran’s time in the city-state.
“With your permission, Your Excellency, after reviewing the existing documents, we found no documents stored at the Indonesian Embassy, Your Excellency,”
Nur Aeni Ariyanti, education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore
According to records from Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU), Gibran attended Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore from 2002 to 2004. Established in January 1999, the school is situated in the Woodlands precinct. Following his secondary schooling, Gibran pursued technical studies at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Insearch in Australia from 2004 to 2007, an institution that has since rebranded as UTS College, before later studying at the Management Development Institute of Singapore in 2007.
Echoing her counterpart’s testimony, Yuli Rahmawati, the education attaché at the Indonesian Canberra embassy, confirmed via teleconference that no academic records or application files for Gibran existed within Australian diplomatic archives. Yuli noted that the search extended across the physical and digital archives.
“Based on our archive search, both in hard copy and soft copy, we have no record of an application submitted by Mr. Gibran,”
Yuli Rahmawati, education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra
Denny Indrayana Challenges Gibran Eligibility Certificate
The lawsuit contesting Gibran’s eligibility was brought by former Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Denny Indrayana alongside 11 co-petitioners, including Brahma Aryana, Ansufri ID Sambo, Fachrul Razi, Tyasno Sudarto, Slamet Soebijanto, Hanafie Asnan, Soenarko MD, Moeryono, H.M. Subhan, Bonatua Silalahi, and Tiurma M.S. Sihombing. The legal team formally filed the challenge on September 10, 2026, and the court registered it on September 17 under case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026.
At the heart of the dispute is Educational Equivalency Certificate No. 9149/D.D1/KP/2019, which the Ministry of Education and Culture issued on August 16, 2019. The document deemed Gibran’s studies at UTS Insearch equivalent to an Indonesian vocational high school diploma in Accounting and Finance. Petitioners argue that administrative defects marred the approval process.
Denny Indrayana told the court that his legal team submitted approximately 160 items of evidence to substantiate claims of administrative irregularities surrounding the candidacy registration. Denny asserted during the evidentiary hearings that the equivalency certificate lacked standard proof of senior high school completion and was processed in under twenty-four hours. The application was filed on August 6 and completed on August 6; standard processing takes at least five working days,
Denny stated.
Petitioners Argue KPU Revised Eligibility Rules
Co-petitioner Bonatua Silalahi introduced further evidence regarding administrative hurdles encountered while requesting public records. Bonatua stated that petitioners secured a written response from the KPU regarding Decree No. 731/2025.
Petitioners also submitted KPU Regulation No. 19/2023, arguing that rule revisions represented a deliberate effort to alter candidate eligibility criteria, specifically regarding high school equivalency requirements for overseas graduates.
In their legal submissions to the Constitutional Court, the petitioners emphasized that their core objective is securing an impartial and transparent judicial review. Para Pemohon hanya memohon kesempatan yang adil agar kebenaran yuridis mengenai pemenuhan persyaratan pendidikan Gibran Rakabuming Raka pada saat ditetapkan sebagai calon wakil presiden, dapat diuji melalui persidangan pembuktian yang terbuka, imparsial, transparan, dan akuntabel,
the filing states, noting that if the evidence demonstrates non-compliance, the court should rule to disqualify the official.
The evidentiary proceedings for case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 continue at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta, where the bench, including judge Saldi Isra, is scheduled to weigh the testimonies provided by the Indonesian diplomatic representatives from Singapore and Australia against the documentary evidence presented by both the election commission and the petitioners.