Ministry of Law and Human Rights States Child of Viral LPDP Scholarship Recipients Remains an Indonesian Citizen

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights states that the child of a couple who received an LPDP scholarship and went viral on social media remains an Indonesian citizen.

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights stated that the child of the couple, recipients of the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) scholarship, AP and DS, still holds Indonesian citizenship.

This is in relation to the widespread content on social media showing DS displaying their child’s success in obtaining a British passport.

The Director General of General Legal Administration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Widodo, explained that based on the information received, AP and DS still hold Indonesian citizenship. Therefore, their child automatically holds Indonesian citizenship.

“If both the mother and father are Indonesian citizens, then the child should generally hold Indonesian citizenship, as stipulated in our laws and regulations,” said Widodo during a press conference on Thursday (26/2).

Widodo highlighted the information stating that the child of the LPDP scholarship recipients is registered as a British citizen.

He questioned the basis of this claim. According to him, the UK does not adhere to the principle of ius soli, or citizenship based on place of birth.

“This certainly raises the question: is the child actually born there, in the UK, while the UK is one of the countries that does not adhere to ius soli? It does not adhere to ius soli, it is not based on the place of birth,” he said.

In addition, he said that the child of the LPDP scholarship recipients is a minor. Based on the lineage of their parents, the child still holds Indonesian citizenship.

However, the parents stated as if their child had become a foreign citizen.

“This clearly violates the right to protection of the child and their parents. Therefore, we will coordinate with the Embassy and the parties concerned to ensure whether there has indeed been a change in citizenship status,” said Widodo.

“Because according to the existing legal regulations, the child remains an Indonesian citizen until they reach adulthood and then decide for themselves if they wish to choose dual citizenship in the country where they reside,” he added.

Previously, an Indonesian citizen and alumnus of the LPDP scholarship program submitted a public apology for their controversial statement on social media.

The owner of the account @sasetyaningtyas uploaded a post containing a statement and apology after their statement, “Let me be the only one who is Indonesian, my children don’t need to be,” became a topic of discussion among netizens.

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