Social Minister Affirms Procurement of Rp 700,000 People's School Shoes Follows Proper Procedures
Social Minister (Mensos) Saifullah Yusuf, or Gus Ipul, has affirmed that the procurement of Rp 700,000 shoes for people’s schools has followed proper procedures. The Rp 700,000 value is the budget ceiling, with actual realisations expected to be cheaper.
“In the procurement of these shoes for people’s school students, it certainly goes through the established procedures and procurement mechanisms. The responsible parties are the PPK or the working group,” said Gus Ipul at the Ministry of Social Affairs building in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/5/2026).
Gus Ipul also presented 2025 procurement data, where realisations for several shoes were below the ceiling values. In 2025, there were seven shoe procurements with varying types and ceiling prices.
From the data, the highest ceiling was Rp 700,000 for PDL model shoes, and the lowest was Rp 500,000 for daily shoes. All 2025 realisations were below the set budget ceilings.
“The ceiling has been set, and this ceiling is determined after a survey or, more simply, after going through the existing mechanisms. So, setting the ceiling beforehand involves a survey, then consultation, and after that, it is established as the ceiling,” he stated.
The determination of winners in the 2025 shoe procurement tender also followed existing procedures. All shoes procured in 2025 have been distributed to beneficiaries.
“So in 2025, there were procurements of several shoes both for students and teachers. Of course, the winners are usually cheaper than the existing ceiling. Yes, cheaper than the existing ceiling,” he explained.
Gus Ipul also said he always instructs his staff not to commit deviations. He assured that he would report to law enforcement if there are reports of deviations in the Ministry of Social Affairs.
“If there is evidence, we will be the first party to report to law enforcement. We repeat this to our friends in the Ministry of Social Affairs. Let us learn from past experiences,” he said.
For information, a photo of Gus Ipul with East Java Governor Khofifah giving shoes to people’s school students went viral on social media. The photo was widely discussed due to the Rp 700,000 shoe procurement budget for people’s school pupils.
The procurement value was then compared to the brand and model of shoes in the photo with Khofifah and Gus Ipul. The shoes in the photo were said to be sold for below Rp 700,000.
Gus Ipul said the type of shoes to be purchased by the Ministry of Social Affairs differs from the shoes in the viral photo.
“Very different, not the standard for people’s schools. That was a special gift from the East Java Governor. So that was a special gift from the East Java Governor to people’s school students when we had an event in Malang, I think, or wherever it was. So that’s not the shoes meant; it was given to people’s school students by the Governor, not a procurement from the Ministry of Social Affairs,” said Gus Ipul.