LPDP Scandal and Gulfstream Private-Jet Scandal
Some Indonesians are urging Penn to revoke a scholarship that was apparently granted to School of Social Policy & Practice student Erina Gudono, the daughter-in-law of the country's president.
Erina Gudono, former analyst of JP Morgan, who is enrolled in the school's nonprofit leadership program [Indonesian: LPDP Scholarship] and is married to the youngest son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, announced that she had received a scholarship to attend SP2 in an Instagram post on July 28. Since then, several Indonesians have taken to social media — including the platforms X and Instagram — to voice concerns about her apparent acceptance, alleging that her privileged background makes her an underserving scholarship recipient.
Gudono and SP2 did not respond to requests for comment.
In last 11 years, debate keep heated about LPDP scholarship in Indonesia, as 90 - 94 percent of Awardee LPDP is rich, upper-class, some of them crazy-rich. Around 400 LPDP awardee change citizenship and never ever back home [Indonesia], a lack of integrity and vulgar show of deepen brain-drain problem.
To explained Erina Gudono to international readers: Indonesia’s Marie Antoinette, US$25 bread, Gulfstream private jet, baby stuff shopping in California. The public is angry at Jokowi family's extravagant lifestyle, even as protests engulfed Indonesia. Her extravagant life is in exchange of the lower-class suffering, many died of starvation, many had to stop school, many turned to crimes to make ends meet, so many had to survive with scraps of food barely feeding one stomach.
The nationwide protests in Indonesia over proposed changes to the election law are seen by analysts as a reflection of public outrage over Pres Joko Widodo’s attempts to entrench his political influence &his family’s lavish lifestyle. The resentment has tainted Widodo’s legacy.
Users have tagged Penn in the comments of Gudono's post and the captions of their own critical ones, calling for the University to reconsider their decision. Critics have also allegedly started a mass email campaign demanding the removal of Gudono's scholarship.
[Kurang lucu apa lagi ====== translate to english “Hillarious Joke, you’re new Marie Antoinette of ASEAN but now studied Practice and Research for Social Justice, with LPDP scholarship, money from taxpayer]
"I didn't expect that Allah SWT would be so kind in providing sustenance for children and going to college at the same time in one year of marriage," Gudono wrote in the post, which was originally written in Indonesian.
In the post, which has over 100,000 likes, she added that her parents both moved to Pennsylvania after their marriage — referencing them studying, working, giving birth, and raising children in the state. Gudono has since since disabled comments on the post.
After days of back and forth, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has dropped plans to question President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep to clarify the details regarding his lavish private jet trip to the United States, despite mounting public pressure to investigate.
This decision further shows the KPK’s lack of seriousness and efforts to combat corruption without discrimination. Last month, while the nation was infuriated over the House of Representatives’ efforts to annul the Constitutional Court’s decision in a speedy revision of the Regional Elections Law, Kaesang and his pregnant wife Erina Gudono triggered public anger for flexing their trip to the US aboard a private jet on social media. Netizens have since accused the couple’s flight aboard the private jet as being provided by Singaporean tech tycoon Gang Ye, which could fall into the category of unlawful gratuity or trading in influence given Kaesang’s status as the President’s son.
Netizens found that the Gulfstream GVI G650ER jet carrying Kaesang and Erina is owned by Garena Online (Pvt) Ltd., a game developer under Sea Limited, which is Shopee's parent company. Gang Ye visited Surakarta, Central Java, the First Family’s hometown, in February 2022 to discuss the Java in Paris event, organized by then-mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka , Jokowi’s eldest son.
SEA Limited CEO Gang Ye is rumored to have provided a private jet for President Jokowi’s son, Kaesang Pangarep, and his wife, Erina Gudono. SEA Limited, based in Singapore, owns Shopee and the gaming giant Garena (known for Free Fire). The Straits Times of course know that last January, multiple tycoons, billionaires of Singapore visit IBU KOTA NUSANTARA -- new capital city of Indonesia, because The Straits Times also part of delegation. President Jokowi sent a special taskforce Maruarar Sirait, ex PDIP, to accompany the Singaporeans.
Like Jokowi, Maruarar is also [former] high rank PDIP. But now [both] is PDIP’s enemy.
According to The Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), the primary anti-corruption legislation in Singapore, “gratification” includes —
(a) money or any gift, loan, fee, reward, commission, valuable security or other property or interest in property of any description, whether movable or immovable;
(b) any office, employment or contract;
(c) any payment, release, discharge or liquidation of any loan, obligation or other liability whatsoever, whether in whole or in part;(d)any other service, favour or advantage of any description whatsoever, including protection from any penalty or disability incurred or apprehended or from any action or proceedings of a disciplinary or penal nature, whether or not already instituted, and including the exercise or the forbearance from the exercise of any right or any official power or duty; and(e)any offer, undertaking or promise of any gratification
New research by School of Social and Political Science at the University of Sydney as shown that family dynasties are more common in democracies than authoritarian systems. Political nepotism has made many women national leaders, particularly in Asia - from Megawati Sukarnoputri to Paetongtarn Shinawatra. So far, Erina Gudono, wife of Kaesang, currently get a nickname Javanese Marie Antoinette, [was] have desire to be Mayor in Yogyakarta province, a special province in Indonesia.
The uproar over Kaesang’s private jet has apparently led one Indonesian-born Singaporean, Septian Hartono, to file a report against Garena with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). At home, the KPK has shifted its approach to investigating Kaesang. Initially planning to summon the chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) for clarification on the alleged gratuity, the KPK has canceled the plan. The case has been transferred from the Directorate of Gratuities to the Directorate of Public Complaint Services (PLPM).
Many have defended Kaesang against these allegations. Information and Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi said that Kaesang’s use of the private jet was to protect his pregnant wife from the laborious process of international travel in a commercial airline. He also stated that Kaesang should not be investigated, as the private jet is not a gratuity since Kaesang is not a public official. Similarly, KPK deputy chairman Nurul Ghufron said Kaesang has no obligation to report the alleged gratuity, including making any disclosure, because he is not in the public sector.
However, Nurul said the antigraft body is still studying relevant regulations to decide the next steps it should take to respond to the controversy. Conversely, KPK chairman Nawawi Pomolanago assured the public that investigations would continue. He noted that Kaesang’s close family ties—his father being the President, his elder brother the vice president-elect and former Surakarta mayor, and his brother-in-law the Medan mayor—could complicate matters. As such, Kaesang should not be considered an individual case.
The KPK has experience investigating graft cases involving family members, as it did when it prosecuted former tax official Rafael Alun Trisambodo. The KPK traced financial transactions that revealed links to luxury items and financial flows involving Rafael's wife and son, ultimately charging him with accepting bribes and gratuity.
In the past, the KPK had the courage to investigate a Bank Indonesia graft case involving then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s close family. The KPK chairman at that time eventually lost his job and was convicted of a murder. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the KPK is in a difficult position as evidenced by conflicting statements of its leaders and reluctance to summon Kaesang. The new KPK Law, which has made the KPK answerable to the President, has limitations in dealing with a case involving the President’s family. In fact, it was during the Jokowi administration that the House passed amendments to the KPK Law that was designed to defang the once most feared antigraft body.
Columbia University graduate Patricia Kusumaningtyas says that some of the outrage surrounding Gudono's alleged scholarship stems from her "very lavish lifestyle" and lack of comment "on the political unrest and protests happening in Indonesia."
Specifically, Kusumaningtyas took issue with Gudono's lack of comment on the ongoing crisis relating to a recent ruling by Indonesia's top court. The ruling stated that political parties would not be required to have a minimum representation of 20% to field a candidate, which loosened the requirements for political participation.
Less than a day later, the Indonesian Parliament introduced an emergency motion to overturn these changes, which was met with widespread criticism and concern over local elections becoming uncontested.
In the following days, Indonesian citizens protested in Jakarta — the country's capital — against the proposed motion, which would preserve the existing political system and benefit current president Joko Widodo and his successor, President-elect Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo.
“There were a lot of protests, all my friends protested and then got tear gassed," Kusumaningtyas explained. "It’s not fair that so much oppression is maintained by the Jokowi administration, and Erina gets to be so tone deaf.”
She added that she — and many others — feel that Gudono should be free to pursue her education. However, she encouraged Penn to "think about applicants in the future who have a hand in disrupting human rights issues [and] democracy issues in their own country" when considering potential scholarship recipients.