A controversy surrounding Indonesia's LPDP scholarship program erupted in February 2026 after a video by a former recipient went viral on social media, sparking widespread debate about whether government-funded scholars are fulfilling their obligation to return and contribute to the country.
LPDP is an abbreviation for the Education Fund Management Institute, which is under the Indonesian Ministry of Finance and manages an endowment fund to finance scholarships for master and doctoral studies.
SBS Indonesian spoke with two current LPDP recipients studying at the University of Melbourne: Dr Jonathan Hasian Haposan, a PhD candidate in child and adolescent health and chairman of Mata Garuda Australia and New Zealand, and Anastasya Cindy Ahimsa Putri, a Master of International Relations candidate and co-chair of Mata Garuda Australia–New Zealand. Mata Garuda is an association of alumni and scholarship recipients (awardees) of LPDP Indonesia.
The two awardees shared their motivations for choosing LPDP scholarships, their fields of study, and how the 2N+1 community service system works in practice. They also discussed how this controversy has impacted the awardee community in Australia and what they hope for from the Indonesian scholarship system.
Listen to the full podcast.
