Jakarta, Feb. 5 -- Indonesian Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf pledged to overhaul social aid registration and distribution after an elementary school student in Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara, took his life, reportedly due to economic hardship.

He regarded the tragic case involving a 10-year-old fourth grader, YBS, as a wake-up call for all institutions and stakeholders to ensure the accuracy and accessibility of social aid and protection for vulnerable communities.

"I will speak plainly: this event has prompted us all to reflect and evaluate. We should not treat aid beneficiary data as mere numbers but attach a sense of social justice to it," Yusuf stated in Jakarta on Thursday.

He made the statement amid mounting public scrutiny o...