BPIP denies discrimination in Makassar student's national Paskibraka selection

JAKARTA — The Badan Pembinaan Ideologi Pancasila (BPIP) has addressed the controversy surrounding a Makassar student, identified as CYL, who was reportedly excluded from the national Pasukan Pengibar Bendera Pusaka (Paskibraka) candidate list.

Vice Head of BPIP Rima Agristina stated there was no discrimination in the selection process. ‘Based on the questions raised about discrimination, we confirm that every process is monitored by BPIP. Therefore, there is no discriminatory action,’ she said at the BPIP office in Jakarta on Friday, 29 May 2026.

‘We immediately deployed a team to verify whether the issue developed as reported and confirmed that the handling was in line with existing regulations,’ she added.

She also noted that BPIP had received clarifications from local authorities. ‘We have seen statements from the local government,’ she said.

Previously, CYL drew public attention after reports emerged that she was removed from the top three female candidates from South Sulawesi to represent the province in the national Paskibraka selection.

Rumours suggested CYL was replaced by a student from Jeneponto who did not make the top 10 in the selection process.

However, the Head of South Sulawesi’s National Unity and Politics Agency (Kesbangpol), Bustanul Arifin, denied social media allegations, including claims of discrimination or CYL’s ability in regional languages.

‘That was not a requirement. However, it was asked as a basic question to represent the province,’ Bustanul said during Kompas TV’s Sapa Indonesia Malam programme on Wednesday, 27 May 2026.