Public Works Minister Reveals Unethical Practices Within His Ministry After the Project Stalled

Jakarta, Kompas.com — Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo acknowledged that the construction of Sekolah Rakyat (SR) had at times run like a ‘half-stalled’ project due to various problems in the early stages of implementation. Nevertheless, Dody assured that the programme is targeted for completion in June 2026 so it can be used in the new academic year starting July 2026. He said the progress of the SR up to 20 May 2026 had average reached around 58 percent and was continuing to rise each day. He noted that some locations recorded daily progress of between 1 and 2 percent. ‘As of yesterday at 4 p.m., it was already 59 percent. Therefore, God willing, it will be finished by the end of June,’ he said. He estimates that at least 88 of the 93 SR sites can be completed on schedule. However, there have been delays beyond his expectations. As a consequence, he disclosed that he has dismissed several parties and is directly monitoring progress daily. All accountable project officers at each site are required to report progress at 16:00 WIB. According to Dody, the locations with the lowest progress at present include Singkawang, Cilacap, Dharmasraya, North Lombok, and Brebes. The highest progress has been recorded in Salatiga, Semarang, Bengkulu, Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), and Medan. Dody stressed that the quality of the construction remains the primary priority and will not be sacrificed to meet the schedule. He described Sekolah Rakyat as a vital programme of President Prabowo Subianto to break the chain of extreme poverty through education. ‘Sekolah rakyat is the idea of the President to break the line of extreme poverty and to prepare a golden generation towards Indonesia Emas 2045,’ he said. He said the Sekolah Rakyat buildings are designed to a high standard and can be compared with the best boarding schools in Indonesia. The facilities prepared also include uniforms, laptops, and high-quality teachers. He added that these conditions caused the project to progress slowly, which he described as a ‘half-stalled’ project. ‘Unfortunately, colleagues at the Ministry of Public Works are still trying to carry out actions that are not commendable at the early stages of building Sekolah Rakyat. Therefore, I can call this project half-stalled,’ he said.