Civil Society Coalition Files Complaint Against KPU to DKPP Over Helicopter Use During Work Visit
A civil society coalition has filed a complaint with the Election Organisers’ Honour Council (DKPP) against the General Elections Commission of the Republic of Indonesia (KPU RI) regarding the use of a helicopter for a work visit. The DKPP has received the report and described it as an allegation of aircraft usage.
“It is true (there is a complaint),” said DKPP Chairman Heddy Lugito to reporters on Friday (15/5/2026).
Heddy stated that the complaint was received on Wednesday (13/5). At present, he said, the complaint is still in the verification process.
“We received that complaint two days ago. It is still in the process of verifying the completeness of the administration,” he said.
Heddy explained that the complaint relates to the use of an aircraft during a work visit to West Java.
“It is true, related to the use of an aircraft in one of the areas in West Java,” he said.
The complaint was submitted by the Civil Society Coalition regarding allegations of ethical code violations in the use of a helicopter by election organisers. The report is based on the potential waste of state budget and violations of the principles of transparency and accountability in carrying out duties and authority of the position.
The respondents are KPU RI Member Parsadaan Harahap as Respondent I, West Java KPU Member Abdullah Syapi’i as Respondent II, KPU RI Secretary General Bernard Dermawan Sutrisno as Respondent III, and West Java KPU Secretary Achmad Syaifudin Rahadian as Respondent IV.
“The use of helicopter with registration number PK-WSD in that trip is strongly suspected of not being based on clear urgency. If calculated, the distance from Jakarta to Cidaun Subdistrict is only around ±239 kilometres, which can be covered by land route in five hours. Cidaun Subdistrict is also not included in the underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas that require special transportation to reach,” said representative of the Civil Society Coalition Rizki Agus Saputra, when confirmed, on Friday (15/5).
According to him, the use of the helicopter contradicts the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. Moreover, he said, the area has adequate road access and is not experiencing disaster conditions.
“The use of this helicopter incurs no small cost, amounting to Rp198,903,675, rented from PT Whitesky Aviation,” he said.
He stated that based on estimates, the hourly rental cost for this type of Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter is around US1, 400, equivalenttoRp22.1million(2024averageexchangerateofUS is Rp15,840). Therefore, according to the calculation, PK-WSD travelled on 25 January 2024 via the route Tangerang-Jakarta-Bandung-Cianjur-Jakarta-Tangerang with a total travel time of 2 hours 14 minutes.
“Thus, the total estimated rental is US$3,127 or equivalent to Rp49.5 million. Compared to the cost incurred, the state had to spend money amounting to almost four times as much,” he explained.
He also hopes that the DKPP will accept and grant their complaint. In addition, he requests that the DKPP impose sanctions on the respondents.
detikcom has attempted to contact KPU RI. However, until this news was published, there has been no response.