KPK Conducts Anti-Corruption Study to Address Procurement in People's School Programme

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) states that it is preparing an anti-corruption prevention study in response to procurement under the People’s School programme by the Ministry of Social Affairs. “As a form of support for the People’s School programme, which is one of the national priority programmes, within the framework of corruption prevention, KPK through the Monitoring Directorate is currently conducting a study,” said KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to journalists in Jakarta on Monday. Budi explained that the study is being carried out by KPK to map potential corruption hotspots in the implementation of the programme. He made the statement in response to public issues regarding the procurement of shoes for the People’s School programme, where each pair is reportedly priced at Rp700,000 while the actual price is estimated at around Rp200,000. Meanwhile, he said that KPK views strengthening corruption prevention as crucial, given that the goods and services procurement sector still has a relatively high level of vulnerability. “KPK enforcement data from 2004-2025 records 446 out of a total of 1,782 cases related to procurement. The modus of these cases is the second largest after bribery or gratifications with 1,100 cases,” he stated. He explained several common modi such as directing procurement plans that do not match needs, misuse of the e-purchasing system including the preparation of estimated prices (HPS), and arranging tender winners who are often in the circle of interested parties. “There will be a tender process and so on. The price could be cheaper than the allocated budget,” said the Social Affairs Minister. In addition, he stated that he has reminded the Ministry of Social Affairs staff responsible for goods and services procurement not to take it lightly. “Their work is supervised. Not only by official institutions but also by the wider public. Do not commit deviations, do not allow intervention by anyone,” he said. He continued, “If there are violations, I myself will not hesitate to report to law enforcement authorities.”