Viral LPDP Alumnus: Komnas HAM Calls for Human Rights Perspective in Social Media Use

“I think digital literacy, particularly regarding the use of social media with a human rights perspective, is indeed important. This will help us to be more sensitive when making statements that could offend the dignity of others, the dignity of the nation and the country,” said the Head of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Anis Hidayah, in Jakarta, as quoted on Wednesday.

The polemic began with a post by DS, an LPDP alumnus, on his personal Instagram account on Friday, 20 February 2026. In the video, the LPDP alumnus showed the passport of his second child, who had recently obtained British citizenship.

In the caption of the post, DS wrote a statement that subsequently sparked controversy because it was considered to belittle access to Indonesian passports and was deemed not to show pride in being an Indonesian citizen.

According to Anis, choosing citizenship is essentially a part of human rights. However, the way it is communicated to the public needs to be done carefully, especially in this context, as DS is a recipient of a state scholarship.

“Of course, words that could potentially raise public sensitivity and raise questions about the potential to belittle our citizenship should be avoided,” said Anis.

“Because it could disrupt our social harmony, especially in the world of social media,” he added.

Previously, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa expressed regret over the alumnus’s attitude. He emphasised that LPDP funds come from public taxes and partly from state debt, which is allocated for human resource development.

“This is money from taxes and partly from debt that we set aside to ensure that our human resources grow, but if it is used to insult the country, then we will ask for the money back with interest,” he added.

He also regretted the alleged misuse of facilities and the attitude that was considered not in line with the purpose of providing scholarships. The government will enforce the applicable rules so that scholarship recipients fulfil all their responsibilities to the LPDP.

“Basically, this is what we regret. So, we will enforce the rules in the LPDP so that the person completes their responsibilities to the LPDP,” he said.

The state treasurer also said that the Director General of LPDP had communicated with the person concerned, and DS’s husband, whose initials are AP, was willing to return the scholarship funds.

“The Director General of LPDP has spoken with the husband (DS) and he (AP) has agreed to return the money used from the LPDP, including interest. I hope that in the future, friends who receive LPDP loans will not insult the country,” he said.

In addition to the return of funds, Purbaya is also considering strict measures in the form of being placed on a blacklist in all government agencies for those who are deemed to have violated the commitment and ethics as recipients of state scholarships.