[HOLDING STATEMENT]
Regarding the recent discussions in society regarding the writing of Mr. Budi Santoso Purwokartiko, the Rector of the Kalimantan Institute of Technology, LPDP issues a statement to clarify the news.
LPDP is an institution managing an enduring education fund sourced from the national budget. The management of this fund is conducted professionally and with integrity, based on Pancasila, the foundational principles of Indonesia that embrace diversity and unity, while respecting differences. LPDP upholds high ethical standards, manners, tolerance, and strongly disapproves of any hate speech. LPDP firmly opposes discriminatory actions, including sentiments based on ethnicity, religion, race, and societal groups.
Although Mr. Budi Santoso Purwokartiko’s writing represents a personal opinion, it has the potential to pose reputation risks to his role as an interviewer for the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program—a scholarship program funding Indonesian students' mobility at leading foreign universities for approximately one semester.
The IISMA program is part of the scholarship program implemented by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemdikbudristek) with funding support from LPDP.
Regarding the implementation of LPDP's scholarship selection process, LPDP adheres to an objective, fair, and diversity-respecting selection policy in line with national values. To ensure objectivity, interview activities are conducted collectively, aiming to avoid individual subjective assessments. Furthermore, assessments are reviewed in subsequent stages to ensure the validity of evaluations according to the criteria outlined in LPDP's scholarship selection guidelines.
According to regulations, interviewers must adhere to a code of ethics while performing their duties. It is expected that interviews are conducted professionally and objectively.
LPDP will continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Culture to continually evaluate and supervise the duties of interviewers to ensure that the selection process complies with the applicable regulations.
Andin Hadiyanto, CEO of LPDP