Citizenship of Child of LPDP Alumni Changed, Parents Accused of Violating Children's Rights

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights has stated that the actions of a couple, recipients of the LPDP scholarship, in changing their child’s citizenship violate the child’s right to protection. The Director General of General Legal Administration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Widodo, said that the child of the LPDP scholarship recipients is a minor. Based on the parents’ lineage, the child is still an Indonesian citizen. However, the parents have stated that their child is a foreign citizen.

“This clearly violates the child’s right to protection. We will coordinate with the embassy and the individuals involved to ensure whether the change in citizenship status has actually occurred,” said Widodo during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Thursday (February 26).

He stated that, legally, the child of the LPDP scholarship recipients remains an Indonesian citizen until adulthood and can then decide for themselves if they wish to choose dual citizenship in the country where they reside. “Until they reach adulthood, they can decide if they want to become a citizen of another country where they have been residing for five years and have become a permanent resident,” he said.

During the press conference, Widodo highlighted information stating that the child of the LPDP scholarship recipient couple is registered as a citizen of the United Kingdom. He questioned the basis of this claim, noting that the UK does not adhere to the principle of ius soli (citizenship based on place of birth).

“This raises the question of whether the child was actually born in the UK, given that the UK is one of the countries that does not adhere to ius soli,” he said.

Previously, an Indonesian citizen and alumnus of the LPDP scholarship program issued a public apology for their controversial statement on social media. The owner of the account @sasetyaningtyas uploaded a statement and apology after their statement, “I’ll just be the only Indonesian citizen; my children don’t have to be,” drew criticism from netizens.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to all members of the public who may have been hurt, offended, or uncomfortable with my statement,” they wrote.