School Foundation Founder Speaks Out on Discovery of 995 Weapons

The founder of the Harapan Ibu School Foundation, Yan Sofyan Syafe’i, has spoken out regarding the discovery of 995 weapons at the foundation’s school in South Jakarta. Sofyan expressed his sadness over the incident and hopes the matter can be resolved quickly. “We, as the founders who established this school, are deeply saddened by this incident, but God willing, as I said earlier, hopefully, all of this can be rectified,” Sofyan said during a press conference in Jakarta, as quoted on Sunday (9/8).

The foundation’s legal representative, Alvon Kurnia Palma, challenged claims that the hundreds of weapons were intended for an extracurricular activity. He demanded that such assertions be proven and not fabricated. “When someone says this was for an extracurricular activity and that it was approved, please prove it. Don’t let this become something that legitimises something that is actually untrue,” Alvon stated.

Alvon also denied any internal ownership dispute within the foundation, specifically addressing allegations of a conflict of interest among the founders. He noted that one of the founders, Suryo, who was implicated in the agreement to store the weapons, was already elderly at the time. “It should be noted that at that time, Mr. Suryo was already 104 years old. I am not dismissing his capabilities, but there were limitations in understanding, knowing, and approving such matters,” he explained.

In response to the controversy, the school will temporarily implement distance learning (PJJ) to ensure student safety. Alvon stated that the school has requested the police to sterilise the area to remove any negative stigma. Meanwhile, Alhadid Endar Putra, Director of PT Lokta Karya Perbakin, who claims ownership of the weapons, insisted that the 995 items, mostly airsoft guns, are legal and licensed. He explained they were stored at the school due to a cooperation agreement with Mr. Suryo to establish a shooting extracurricular activity for young athletes ahead of the Asian Games. The discovered items included four long-barrelled firearms, two short-barrelled firearms, silencers, seven magazines of various types, ammunition, and numerous airsoft guns modelled after FN P90, AK-47, and M4 Carbine rifles, as well as a bullet-making tool and a guidebook.