Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — The Indonesian government will ban individuals involved in online gambling or terrorist activities from receiving food aid. The new regulations was revealed by Major General Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, President Director of the state-owned logistics agency Perum Bulog.
“In line with government regulations, individuals found to be involved in online gambling or terrorism-related activities will not be eligible for food aid,” Rizal said during a Regional Inflation Control Meeting, as quoted by state news agency Antara on Monday (July 14, 2025).
The announcement follows a startling report by Indonesia’s Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), which found that 571,410 social assistance recipients were involved in online gambling activities in 2024. Their total gambling deposits reportedly reached Rp957 billion (approximately $59 million) across 7.5 million transactions.
Therefore, he called on local officials and Bulog regional branches to thoroughly re-examine aid recipient data to ensure compliance. Anyone found to be involved in online gambling, locally known as judol, or radical groups should be immediately removed from the list of aid beneficiaries, he said.
“I urge all local authorities to recheck the beneficiary data. Those identified as being involved in online gambling or terrorist-affiliated groups must be disqualified from receiving food aid. This is a firm directive and must be taken seriously,” Rizal stressed.
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Bulog has been assigned to distribute rice aid for June and July 2025, with each household receiving 10 kilograms per month, totaling 20 kilograms for the two-month period.
To improve transparency and accountability, Bulog is also developing a dedicated app integrated with logistics partners to track and monitor rice distribution in real time.
“Since the recipients are listed by name and address, we can easily track shipments through this app,” Rizal explained.
He added that Bulog has contracted transport companies to deliver the rice directly to distribution points, with oversight from local government officials or security personnel.
In terms of packaging, Bulog ensured that the rice aid would be delivered in durable, tamper-proof packaging, suitable for long-distance delivery to remote regions such as Papua and eastern Indonesia.
Separately, Bulog has also been tasked with distributing 1.3 million tons of rice under the Food Supply and Price Stabilization Program (SPHP), which runs from July to December 2025, under orders from the National Food Agency (Bapanas).
(Raidi/Agung)
