PDI-P Lawmaker Reminds LPDP Scholarship Recipients Not to Seek Clout: 'That's the People's Tax Money'

Member of House Commission X Bonnie Triyana has responded to the viral case of an LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education) alumna with the initials DS, who sparked public outrage after declaring “it’s enough that I’m an Indonesian citizen — my children shouldn’t be,” and called on scholarship recipients to recognise that their education is funded by the people’s taxes.

“LPDP recipients must uphold the trust placed in them when using their scholarship funds, especially as the money is collected from the people’s taxes,” Bonnie said when contacted on Monday (23/2/2026).

The PDI-P legislator said LPDP scholarships should not be used solely for personal benefit. Rather, recipients must repay the public’s taxes by contributing to solving the nation’s problems.

“Scholars fortunate enough to receive LPDP funding should not use it merely to seek social clout from atop an ivory tower on a mountaintop. Instead, they should come down from the mountain and help solve the problems faced by ordinary people, drawing on their respective fields of knowledge and expertise,” Bonnie explained.

According to Bonnie, the rules and requirements for LPDP scholarship recipients are already well structured. He considered that cases involving problematic scholarship recipients were matters of individual responsibility.

“I think the LPDP requirements are already sound. It’s simply a matter of consistency in honouring the agreements,” he said.

DS’s Viral Remarks

The owner of the Instagram account @sasetyaningtyas uploaded a video of herself opening a long-awaited package containing a letter from the UK Home Office.

The letter confirmed that her second child had officially become a British citizen. The woman also displayed the British passport that arrived with the letter.

“This package isn’t just any package — it contains an extremely important document that changes the fate and future of my children. Let’s open it,” she said.

“This is a letter from the UK Home Office stating that my second child has been accepted as a British citizen,” she continued.

She went on to say that she would endeavour to secure foreign citizenship for her children.

“I know the world seems unfair, but it’s enough that I’m the one who’s an Indonesian citizen — my children shouldn’t be. We’ll make sure the children have strong passports as foreign nationals,” she said.

The LPDP scholarship recipient with the initials DS subsequently apologised. The public apology was issued via her Instagram account.

The account owner posted a clarification and apology on Friday (20/2). She said the statement had been motivated by frustration, but acknowledged that her actions were misguided and inappropriate.

“I fully recognise that the statement was poorly worded and could be interpreted as demeaning the identity of being an Indonesian citizen. To that end, I acknowledge my error in choice of words and in expressing them in a public forum,” she said.