Follow-Up: Indonesia's Supreme Court Annuls Vice President Gibran's High-School Equivalency Certificate: Eligibility Debate Reignites
Indonesia's Supreme Court published a cassation ruling (Decision No. 742 K/TUN/2026) on its website on October 30: it granted the appeal filed by a citizen, Subhan, overturned the lower administrative court decisions, and declared the certificate recognizing Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's overseas education as equivalent to an Indonesian senior high school qualification invalid and void by law, ordering the document to be withdrawn and destroyed.
The annulled document is Certificate No. 9149/D.D1/KS/2019, issued on August 6, 2019 by the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education, which recognized Gibran's studies at Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore and UTS Insearch in Australia as equivalent to an Indonesian high-school education. Gibran relied on that certificate to meet the education requirement when he registered as a vice-presidential candidate in 2024. Subhan sued the education ministry at the Jakarta Administrative Court in February (case No. 62/G/2026/PTUN.JKT), and the case reached the Supreme Court on appeal.
The fallout became a focus of Indonesian politics from November 1. Gadjah Mada University legal scholar Oce Madril told Kompas the ruling has permanent legal force: the education ministry must implement it within 60 days by revoking the certificate, and if it does not, the decision takes effect automatically. Jansen Sitindaon, deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Party, said that with the certificate annulled, Gibran no longer meets the requirements to serve as vice president, leaving two options: resign, or be removed by the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly under Article 7A of the constitution. Muhammad Kholid, secretary-general of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), welcomed the ruling and said parliament must take a constitutional position.
Gibran's attorney, Muhammad Rullyandi, said the decision does not affect his client's position as vice president, arguing it cannot be fully implemented because the legal circumstances changed before the verdict was delivered. As GSM reported earlier, Indonesia's Constitutional Court on October 7 unanimously dismissed a separate lawsuit seeking to revoke Gibran's vice-presidential eligibility. The Supreme Court's ruling on the certificate itself follows a different legal path, and whether it will affect his tenure now depends on Indonesia's political and legal process.
Source: Supreme Court of Indonesia
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：印度尼西亚副总统吉布兰·拉卡布明·拉卡2024年官方肖像。照片为公共领域，印度尼西亚国务秘书部提供，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official 2024 portrait of Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Public domain, by the Ministry of State Secretariat, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-02At Indonesia's Constitutional Court Hearing, Education Official Says No Diploma Was Submitted in Vice President's Equivalency Assessment
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- 2026-10-30Follow-Up: Indonesia's Supreme Court Annuls Vice President Gibran's High-School Equivalency Certificate: Eligibility Debate ReignitesThis story
