Minister Saifullah Yusuf Vows President Prabowo's Strategic Programmes Must Be Free from Corruption
Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul, does not want the strategic programmes initiated by President Prabowo Subianto to be tarnished by corruption. He made the statement during a visit to Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) in Kalibata, South Jakarta.
“We had a lengthy discussion (with ICW) in the same spirit: President Prabowo’s strategic programmes must not be tainted by corrupt practices,” Gus Ipul told reporters after the meeting at the location on Friday (24/7/2026).
During the meeting, Gus Ipul discussed ICW’s study on procurement budgets within the Sekolah Rakyat (People’s School) programme. He promised to follow up on ICW’s findings while also improving the governance of the programme.
“I received a great deal of input regarding procurement at the Ministry of Social Affairs, particularly procurement related to the People’s Schools. What ICW has presented is extremely valuable input for the ministry. I and the Deputy Minister will follow up, examine it in depth, and take concrete steps going forward,” he explained.
Furthermore, Gus Ipul affirmed that he is ready to accept criticism and suggestions from any quarter. According to him, the study submitted by ICW is supported by accurate data.
“Lastly, we are very open to criticism and suggestions from anyone, especially when accompanied by accurate data. Everything ICW presented was backed by highly accurate data,” he said.
Gus Ipul added that the review of the Sekolah Rakyat programme was also informed by the Inspectorate General and the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK). He said there were similarities in the findings from the three parties.
“There are commonalities in the findings presented by ICW, as well as by the Inspectorate General and BPK. So there are overlapping issues that we hope will drive improvements going forward — improvements to prevent corruption within the Ministry of Social Affairs,” he said.