Veteran Data in NTT Allegedly Manipulated

Data on veterans in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is suspected of having been manipulated. As a result, many genuine fighters have not received their allowances, while those who are not entitled have been receiving them.

This was conveyed by the Head of the Veterans Centre of the National Reserve Component of the Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General TNI Asep Tardiana Wachgi, during a coordination meeting on the follow-up to resolving veterans’ issues in 2026 in Kupang on Thursday (25/6/2026).

“There is still a lot of information that those who are not entitled to veterans’ allowances are receiving them. Yet, those who truly fought, especially in Timor Timur, are not receiving their allowances,” Asep stressed.

According to data from the Ministry of Defence’s National Reserve Component, there are 6,085 veterans in NTT of various types. The majority of them are Seroja veterans, namely fighters from the Timor Timur period of 21 May 1975 to 17 July 1976.

Asep emphasised that this data manipulation issue will be resolved in coordination with PT Taspen, the regional government, the Regional Leadership Council of the Veterans’ Legion of Indonesia for NTT, as well as the regional military commands and district military commands in NTT.

The Chairman of the NTT Regional Leadership Council of the Veterans’ Legion of Indonesia, retired Police Commissioner AKBP Stefanus Djawa Botha, supported the Veterans Centre’s initiative to evaluate veterans in NTT. Stefanus also confirmed that the current number of veterans in the NTT region stands at 6,085.

“According to our data, it is 6,085. That is not yet final because many veteran members who have received their rights as veterans have never registered as members of the Veterans’ Legion,” Stefanus explained.

“From our data, there are 6,085 veterans in NTT, but there are no reports on whether any have passed away or not; they never report,” Stefanus added.

Stefanus explained that the NTT Regional Leadership Council of the Veterans’ Legion faces obstacles in collecting real-time data on the exact number of veterans. This is because the council lacks the budget to conduct direct checks across the various regencies.

“We have no support from the regional government, so we only have the spirit to build this organisation,” Stefanus stated.