SEMARANG \u2014 The head of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia for\nCentral Java, Siti Farida, has revealed that before the Regent of\nPemalang, Anom Widyantoro, was caught in a hand-catch operation (OTT) by\nthe Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), her office had issued a\nwarning to him regarding a conflict of interest. This related to Anom\u2019s\ndecision to appoint his wife, Noor Faizah Maenofie, as a member of the\nSupervisory Board of dr M Ashari Regional General Hospital in\nPemalang.<\/p>\n
Siti said the warning over the conflict of interest was conveyed to\nAnom in 2026. \u201cWe specifically raised the potential conflict of interest\nregarding the appointment of the hospital\u2019s supervisory board, which\nincluded the Regent\u2019s wife. We stated clearly that there was a potential\nconflict of interest,\u201d Siti said in an interview on Wednesday (29 July\n2026).<\/p>\n
She added that a conflict of interest constitutes a form of\nmaladministration in the delivery of public services. \u201cMaladministration\nis the upstream source of corruption,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Siti explained that in 2025 the Central Java Ombudsman conducted a\npublic service assessment across 15 regencies and cities in the\nprovince, including Pemalang. For Pemalang specifically, she\nacknowledged there was a gap between the internal assessment and the\npublic\u2019s assessment. The people of Pemalang, Siti said, had indeed\nraised many concerns about public services there.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Pemalang itself, the 2025 results did not reach the category of\nvery good, or were not optimal,\u201d Siti said.<\/p>\n
According to Siti, in 2024 the public service assessment results for\nPemalang were fairly good. However, at that time the Central Java\nOmbudsman had not yet included a public trust indicator in its\nassessment process. \u201cOnce the public trust indicator was added, the\naverage score showed a gap, or a decline, including for Pemalang,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
She said that from 2025 to 2026, the Central Java Ombudsman had also\nreceived reports or complaints from the public regarding suspected\nmaladministration of public services in Pemalang. \u201cWe always emphasise\nthat maladministration is the gateway to corruption,\u201d Siti said.<\/p>\n
The KPK carried out the OTT against Pemalang Regent Anom Widyantoro\non Tuesday night (28 July 2026). In the operation, the KPK also arrested\n20 other individuals. All 21 were detained at three separate locations:\nJakarta, Pemalang and Purworejo. Anom was among the five people secured\nby the KPK in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
According to the KPK, the operation was linked to the implementation\nof projects in Pemalang Regency. There are also allegations of the\nbuying and selling of official positions.<\/p>\n
Before Anom, four other regents in Central Java had already been\ncaught in KPK sting operations: Sudewo, Regent of Pati; Fadia Arafiq,\nRegent of Pekalongan; Syamsul Auliya Rachman, Regent of Cilacap; and\nEtik Suryani, Regent of Sukoharjo.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ombudsman-had-warned-pemalang-regent-over-nepotism-before-kpk-sting-1785336779", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }