Gibran Not Angry With Company Challenging His Education Certificate, Lawyer Says

Gibran willing to attend court

Speaking at his South Jakarta office on the night of October 29, Adil recounted a meeting with Gibran before the lawyers took on the case. He said the vice president requested their assistance and told them: "I am not angry with anyone, just please respond to this."

Gibran would also be willing to attend court if needed, as long as the appearance did not conflict with his vice presidential duties, Adil said. The lawyer said his team was prepared to see the case through to its conclusion.

Withdrawal draws an objection

At the hearing earlier that day, PT Mercy Toga Kirana's lawyer, Denny Indrayana, sought to withdraw the challenge, and the plaintiff's team walked out. According to detikNews and Jawa Pos Radar Madiun, the plaintiff cited the defendant's failure to produce the documents on which the equivalency certificate was based.

Muhammad Rullyandi, representing Gibran's legal team, opposed the withdrawal. He argued that procedural law requires the defendant's consent to withdraw a lawsuit once the court has begun examining it.

Gibran participates in the case as an intervening defendant, not the primary defendant. The formal defendant is the Director General of Secondary Education and Special Education at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, known as Kemendikdasmen, the two outlets reported.

Education records submitted with the defense

Adil said the defense had provided the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) with copies of Gibran's education credentials spanning elementary school through his bachelor's degree. He emphasized that the October 29 session was for presenting the defense's response to the judges; the proceedings had not yet reached the evidence stage.

The legal team told detikNews that its answer ran to 69 pages and that it had uploaded the diploma evidence to the court's e-court system. The lawyers said they would produce the original diplomas later, as required by procedural law.

The team also displayed photographs of the records. These included Gibran's Indonesian elementary and junior high school diplomas, an O Level certificate from Orchid Park Secondary School in Singapore, a certificate from UTS Insearch in Australia, a diploma from MDIS Singapore and a diploma from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom.

Adil maintained that Gibran's credentials were complete. "This presents a comprehensive and sequential illustration, fulfilling every requirement," he said.

What the certificate challenge seeks

The disputed document, Equivalency Certificate No. 9149/D DI/KS/2019, establishes that Gibran's graduation from UTS Insearch in Sydney, Australia, is equivalent to an Indonesian vocational high school qualification. The lawsuit was filed on July 15, 2026, according to the court's official page, as cited by Jawa Pos Radar Madiun.

The petition asks the court to invalidate the certificate, dated August 6, 2019. According to detikNews, it also seeks an order requiring the defendant to revoke it fully and permanently and remove it from the state register within 60 working days after a final ruling. A further request seeks a written answer within 30 working days to the plaintiff's administrative clarification request dated February 11, 2026.

The challenge follows an earlier Constitutional Court ruling. As reported by detikNews, that court found no evidence of an overseas high school diploma used to obtain Gibran's equivalency certificate. It noted that the certificate had been issued on the basis of a certificate of attendance and documents other than a diploma.

The Constitutional Court nevertheless rejected the petition seeking Gibran's disqualification, ruling that the petitioners lacked legal standing in the presidential election dispute.