TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has called on recipients of wage subsidy assistance (BSU) in Riau to spend the funds on productive activities instead of online gambling.
“Don’t use it for gambling. I’ve said this many times at every BSU distribution location,” he stated at the Pos Indonesia office in Pekanbaru City on Monday, July 28, 2025, according to an official release from the Vice President’s Secretariat Media and Information Bureau.
The BSU is part of a national strategic program aimed at supporting the economic stability of formal workers earning less than Rp3.5 million per month. Each recipient is granted Rp600,000 in aid for two months, with the program targeting over 17.3 million workers across Indonesia.
Gibran noted that the BSU distribution in Pekanbaru has proceeded smoothly, but he urged for close monitoring to prevent any misuse or withholding of the aid from eligible recipients.
Also present at the event, Minister of Manpower Yassierli provided updates on the program’s national and regional progress. He reported that more than 14 million workers nationwide had received the assistance.
“To date, we have reached 92.25 percent of the national target, with 14,715,000 workers having received the aid,” he said.
In Riau Province, Yassierli added, the distribution has reached around 368,000 people, or 91 percent of the target, including approximately 145,000 recipients in Pekanbaru City.
Earlier, Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf said the ministry would withdraw aid from individuals who intentionally misuse the funds.
“If the aid is clearly used for improper purposes, we will reallocate it to those who are more eligible,” said Saifullah, also known as Gus Ipul, when approached at the Parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, in coordination with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), will review aid recipients suspected of using the funds for online gambling or terrorism-related activities. Saifullah noted that some of these violations may have occurred without the recipients' awareness.
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