TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian House Speaker, Puan Maharani, has requested the government to thoroughly investigate and validate the findings of the misuse of social assistance by recipients for online gambling transactions. She stated that others may be misusing the data of social assistance recipients.
"Some of the social assistance recipients may be involved, but there are also those who are unaware and their data is being abused," said Puan in a written statement on Friday, July 11, 2025.
She mentioned that the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK)'s findings on social assistance recipients' violations involving online gambling could serve as the basis for verification. Therefore, she warned the government not to immediately enforce the reduction of social assistance based on these initial findings.
"In gambling cases, there are many modus operandi involving the sale and purchase of accounts and the misuse of identities, including the National Identity Numbers (NIK) of the social assistance recipients," said the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).
She stated that the government needs to evaluate the mechanism for distributing social assistance, including the accuracy of individuals eligible to receive government aid.
On the other hand, Puan urged the government to ensure that irresponsible parties do not misuse the population's data. She also pushed for a comprehensive crackdown on online gambling.
Recently, PPATK revealed that the violation of social assistance recipients is not only related to online gambling. The Head of PPATK, Ivan Yustiavandana, stated that the agency has detected the misuse of social assistance by recipients for corruption, narcotics, and terrorism funding.
Regarding the terrorism funding through social assistance funds, Ivan indicated that hundreds of recipients have allocated funds for these activities. "More than 100 recipients have been identified through their NIK regarding terrorism funding activities," he said.
He mentioned that his agency is currently coordinating with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Ivan stated that the coordination is aimed at matching the NIK of social assistance recipients with those related to gambling and terrorism funding.
According to him, it is possible that the accounts of social assistance recipients found to be misused will be completely closed. "We will hand over the accounts to the Minister of Social Affairs," said Ivan.
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf stated that his ministry will revoke the social assistance of recipients who deliberately misuse the aid. Based on the PPATK findings, there are indications that social assistance recipients have used the aid for online gambling, narcotics, and terrorism funding.
"If they are truly using social assistance for other purposes, we will redirect it to those who are more eligible," said Gus Ipul at the Parliament complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, together with PPATK, will re-examine social assistance recipients suspected of misusing the aid for gambling and terrorism activities. According to him, it is possible that the violations were carried out without the knowledge of the social assistance recipients.
"Whether it is used individually, collectively, or exploited by others, so that the recipients are unaware. We will investigate this thoroughly," he said.
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