Crack Down on Illegal Levies in Transportation Sector, Transport Minister Dudy Urges Public to Report via Social Media

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has urged users of transportation services not to hesitate in reporting suspected illegal levies, or pungli, by uploading evidence to social media so that it can be promptly followed up.

This request comes in response to allegations of pungli practices in free repatriation services via sea transport during the 2026 Lebaran/Idul Fitri 1447 Hijri period. This is particularly as reported in the Kendari city area, Southeast Sulawesi.

“The Ministry of Transportation has social media; just report it so it can serve as material for our evaluation and investigation. So don’t be shy, if there’s evidence of pungli, record it on video and send it to us. That’s all,” said the Transport Minister in Jakarta on Thursday night, 9 April 2026.

Nevertheless, Dudy admitted that he has not yet received an official report regarding the alleged pungli, thus asking the public to provide detailed information including the time of the incident, location, and the parties allegedly involved.

He emphasised that reports accompanied by evidence would greatly assist the Ministry of Transportation in conducting investigations and taking firm action against parties proven to have committed violations.

According to him, the public need not fear or hesitate to report, as public involvement is very important in maintaining transparency and the quality of government-organised transportation services.

Dudy also encouraged the public to utilise the various social media channels owned by the Ministry of Transportation as a means for quick reporting, so that information can be immediately processed by the relevant parties.

“If it’s like that, please convey to us when it happened, what ship it was, all sorts of things. Passengers shouldn’t stay silent. It’s fine to upload it to social media and so on, so we can follow it up,” he said.

He added that documentation in the form of videos or photos is very much needed to strengthen reports, so that the verification process can be carried out more accurately and quickly by the assigned team.

In addition, the Ministry of Transportation will use every public report as evaluation material to improve service quality and prevent the recurrence of pungli practices in the future.

“Our hope is that if there is pungli or the like, social media can become a place to report it,” he stated.