Foundation Responds to Discovery of Hundreds of Weapons at South Jakarta School
A total of 996 weapons were discovered in a room belonging to the former chairman of a foundation at a private school in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta. The foundation has responded, refuting several statements made by the former chairman.
One of the school’s founders, Yan Sofyan Syafe’i, expressed his sadness over the discovery. “We, as the founders who established this school, are deeply saddened by this incident. But God willing, as I said earlier, hopefully everything can be rectified as best as possible,” Sofyan said during a press conference in South Jakarta on Sunday (9/8/2026).
Sofyan explained that the school was originally founded to nurture pious and intelligent children. The founders included former Indonesian Vice President Adam Malik, retired Lieutenant General KPH Soerjo Wirjohadipoetro, Mawardi Labay El-Sulthani, and Yan Sofyan Syafe’i himself. “We went to see Mr Adam, and he directed us, as he was Vice President at the time, to a plot of land in Kebayoran, specifically in Pondok Pinang,” he said. “After that, we established the foundation with the vision and mission of educating the nation’s children, wanting them to become complete human beings.”
Regarding the extracurricular activity claim, Alhadid Endar Putra, the legal representative for former foundation chairman IWD and director of PT Lokta Karya Perbakin, stated that the 995 airsoft guns belonged to his company. He claimed the weapons were stored in the school warehouse in connection with a planned cooperation agreement for a shooting extracurricular activity between PT Lokta Karya Perbakin and the previous foundation management in 2020. “The reason they were at the foundation’s school is because in 2020 we had an agreement with Mr Suryo, who was also a supervisor at the foundation. We agreed to set up a shooting extracurricular for young athletes ahead of the Asian Games, specifically target shooting,” he said on Friday (7/8). However, the plan was halted after the foundation official involved passed away, leaving the weapons in storage.
The foundation’s legal team challenged the extracurricular claim. “When someone says this was an approved extracurricular activity, please provide proof. Do not let this legitimise something that is not true,” said foundation lawyer Alvon Kurnia Palma in Jakarta on Sunday (9/8/2026). He also noted that Mr Suryo, the supervisor allegedly aware of the plan, was 104 years old at the time, suggesting there were limitations in his capacity to understand, know, and approve such proposals.
Alhadid Endar Putra insisted the weapons were official and licensed, claiming he had shown the permits to the police. He expressed surprise that the current foundation management appeared unaware of the weapons’ origins, suspecting the issue had surfaced due to an internal conflict within the foundation’s management after a previous supervisor was unilaterally dismissed.
The foundation’s legal team denied that the weapons discovery stemmed from a conflict among founders. Alvon Kurnia Palma asserted there was no conflict between the founders themselves. “We want to convey that the founders’ vision and mission remain to produce pious children,” he said. Another foundation lawyer, Hermawanto, alleged there were issues with the foundation’s governance, accusing IWD of entering the management with family members and potentially misusing the foundation for personal gain.