JAKARTA - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa threatened to blacklist violators of Indonesia's government scholarship program from all state institutions and demand repayment of funds with interest, after a social media post by an alumna of the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) sparked national outrage.

Speaking at the APBN KiTa press conference on February 23 at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta, Purbaya said, “That money comes from taxes and partly from debt that we set aside to ensure our human resources grow. But if it is used to insult the country, we will ask for it back with interest.”

Dwi Sasetyaningtyas, known as LPDP alumna DS, posted a video showing her second child's British citizenship letter and said she did not want her children to hold Indonesian passports.

The post went viral, and public fury followed when it emerged that her husband, identified only by initials AP, had received an LPDP scholarship for a PhD abroad but had not fulfilled the mandatory service obligation requiring awardees to return to Indonesia and work there for twice the length of their study period plus one year.

Purbaya confirmed LPDP's director had already spoken with AP, who agreed to return the full scholarship amount plus interest. Both DS and AP will be permanently blacklisted from working with any government institution.

LPDP acting director Sudarto also said the agency has investigated more than 600 awardees for potential service obligation violations, of whom 44 have been sanctioned. Eight have been ordered to repay their scholarship funds, while 36 remain under review. 

Investigations draw on immigration exit records from the Directorate General of Immigration, public reports, and social media monitoring.

LPDP manages a total endowment of Rp154.11 trillion as of June 2025, and has funded 55,492 scholarship recipients since 2013, covering masters, doctoral, and specialist medical degrees. 

Under LPDP rules, awardees are permitted to do internships or build businesses abroad for up to two years before their service obligation begins, meaning not all 600 cases under review will necessarily result in sanctions.