MPR Quiz Contest Participant to Meet Muzani and Gibran
The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has invited Josepha Alexandra, a participant in the Four Pillars Quiz Competition from SMA Negeri 1 Pontianak in West Kalimantan, to Jakarta. Josepha is the student who protested the judges’ scoring in the quiz competition and subsequently went viral on social media.
“Tomorrow, Josepha is scheduled to meet directly with Mr Ahmad Muzani, Chairman of the MPR RI, and is also scheduled to meet Vice President Gibran,” said MPR member Rifqinizamy Karsayuda when contacted on Tuesday night, 12 May 2026.
Rifqinizamy had previously provided a scholarship to study in China as appreciation for Josepha’s courage in protesting the injustice of the judges’ scoring in the MPR Quiz Competition some time ago.
According to Rifqinizamy, the prize was an offer from him, who is also an alumnus of SMAN 1 Pontianak.
“We have good relations with the Chinese government; in recent times, we have also distributed similar scholarships to students, especially in the South Kalimantan electoral district,” said the Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives.
Regarding the controversy over the quiz competition scoring, Rifqinizamy stated that the MPR has issued a public clarification and apology. In the upcoming meeting between MPR leaders and Josepha, he said, the public will receive a more adequate explanation regarding the follow-up actions.
“Tomorrow, insyaallah, MPR leaders will explain it in more detail, including how the treatment of the results of the MPR RI Four Pillars Quiz Competition at the West Kalimantan provincial level, and the possibilities,” he said.
The MPR Four Pillars Quiz Competition on 9 May 2026 sparked controversy because the judging panel did not provide fair scoring to two participating teams in the final round.
The incident began with three finalists—SMA Negeri 1 Pontianak, SMA Negeri 1 Sambas, and SMA Negeri 1 Sanggau—competing to answer the question: “In selecting BPK members, the DPR must consider input from which institution?”
Team C from SMAN 1 Pontianak answered first, stating that members of the Financial Audit Board are selected by the House of Representatives, considering input from the Regional Representative Council, and inaugurated by the President.
Judge Dyastasita deemed the answer insufficiently precise and awarded minus 5 points. Dyastasita is the Head of the Assessment Bureau of the MPR General Secretariat.
The same question was then posed again to the forum, and Team B, SMAN 1 Sambas, took the opportunity to answer that members of the Financial Audit Board are selected by the House of Representatives, considering input from the Regional Representative Council, and inaugurated by the President.
The judges decided the answer was correct and awarded SMAN 1 Sambas 10 points. This was then protested by participants from SMAN 1 Pontianak, who had given the same answer first.
However, the judges reasoned that SMA Negeri 1 Pontianak did not mention the words “input from DPD”. This was then refuted by the participants of Team C. The debate went viral on social media after a clip of the scoring video was reposted by users.
One of the judging panel members, Indri Wahyuni, highlighted the importance of accuracy in participants’ articulation when delivering answers. “Articulation is important. The judges assess based on what is clearly heard. If it is not heard clearly, the judges have the right to deduct points,” said Indri Wahyuni.
Based on the MPR website, Indri Wahyuni currently serves as Head of the Secretariat of the MPR Socialisation Agency. MPR Secretary General Siti Fauziah said her institution is investigating the details of the scoring controversy in the competition.
The MPR, according to Siti, will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the technical aspects of the competition to promote a transparent and accountable scoring system. Several aspects to be evaluated include the scoring mechanism, clarity of answer articulation, answer verification system, and handling of objections in the competition.
“Public input will be an important evaluation material to maintain the quality of activities and public trust in the inclusive, educational, and integrity-driven national learning process,” Siti said in a written message on Monday night.