Deputy Home Affairs Minister Rejects Linking Regional Head Graft to Salaries Amid Rising OTT Cases

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya has rejected the notion that the high number of regional heads caught in Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sting operations is linked to their salary levels. “I do not agree if the salary of regional heads is linked to corrupt behaviour,” Bima Arya said when contacted on Saturday (4/7/2026). He noted that many regional heads who were already successful entrepreneurs still committed corruption, while others who had opportunities to do so remained honest. “Many regional heads from successful business backgrounds still commit corruption, and many regional heads whose regions present opportunities for corruption remain upright and honest,” he said. Bima Arya stressed that the causes of corruption among regional heads are numerous and require total systemic reform. “Corruption among regional heads has many causes and needs comprehensive systemic improvement from upstream to downstream, meaning reforms starting from political party governance, party cadre development, the electoral system, regional head elections, law enforcement commitment, the independence of internal government supervisory apparatus, and so on,” he explained. The latest case involved Langkat Regent Syah Afandin, who was arrested in a KPK sting operation related to project bribery, with hundreds of millions of rupiah in cash seized as evidence. Prior to Syah Afandin, the KPK had also named Kuantan Singingi Regent Suhardiman Amby a suspect for alleged bribery in the buying and selling of a regional secretary position, making him the seventh regional head in Riau to become a suspect. In total, nine regional heads have been ensnared by the KPK throughout 2026.