BPIP addresses Makassar Paskibraka selection controversy

The Badan Pembinaan Ideologi Pancasila (BPIP) claims the national-level selection process for the Pasukan Pengibar Bendera Pusaka (Paskibraka) was conducted professionally and objectively. Director of the Paskibraka Programme at BPIP Central, Fuad Lutfi, stated this in response to social media narratives claiming a Makassar-based candidate, identified as CYL, failed to advance to the national selection despite reportedly being among the top three in the initial South Sulawesi provincial selection.

Fuad Lutfi said the South Sulawesi selection was carried out in accordance with national procedures, involving local government, provincial selection committees, and central monitoring teams. He stressed that the decision on who represents the province at the national level is not made by a single entity.

“Decisions are not made by one person or one institution. This is a multi-stakeholder assessment in line with national guidelines,” Fuad stated on Thursday, 28 May 2026.

He explained that Paskibraka selection evaluates more than just academic scores or national ideology tests. The assessment covers health, fitness, marching discipline, personality, national ideology awareness, mental readiness, and discipline.

Fuad added that the selection is conducted in stages from district/city to provincial and national verification. Each province selects three pairs of candidates for the national selection round. “There is a ranking based on cumulative scores from all stages. The highest cumulative score determines who is sent to the national selection,” he said.

According to Fuad, CYL did not make the top three recommended from South Sulawesi for the national selection based on the cumulative scores.

The selection process for South Sulawesi’s Paskibraka candidates has sparked controversy in recent days. The dispute began when candidate CYL was reportedly in the top three national contenders but was suddenly replaced by another candidate who was not even in the top ten. Initially, the top three female candidates comprised two from Makassar (including CYL) and one from Bone. This list was reportedly approved by part of the committee, but CYL’s position was later unilaterally replaced by a candidate from Gowa Regency, allegedly without a clear additional selection process.