DPR Commission II Chair Responds to Ombudsman Head's Suspect Status, Here Are the Suggestions
The Chair of Commission II of the House of Representatives, Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, has responded to the suspect status of the Chairman of the Republic of Indonesia Ombudsman, Hery Susanto. He suggested that the other eight Ombudsman leaders conduct consolidation to address the issue.
“Immediately carry out internal consolidation and ensure that all duties, authorities, and functions of the RI Ombudsman across Indonesia run well,” said Rifqi on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
The NasDem Party politician stated that the determination of suspect status against Hery Susanto would serve as material for evaluation by the commission to assess the future of the Ombudsman. “Let us give time for the legal process to run by prioritising the presumption of innocence principle, and Commission II of the DPR RI certainly regrets that this could happen,” he said.
The Attorney General’s Office designated Hery Susanto as a suspect in the alleged corruption case of nickel mining business governance in Southeast Sulawesi for the period 2013-2025, last Wednesday. The suspect designation came just a few days after Hery Susanto was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Chairman of the RI Ombudsman on Friday, 10 April 2026.
Hery is charged with violating Article 12 letter a, subsidiarly Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Corruption Eradication Law or Article 606 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. The Prosecutor’s Office suspects Hery received Rp 1.5 billion so that the Ombudsman would issue an Examination Result Report (LHP) whose contents corrected the Forestry Ministry’s decision on non-tax state revenue (PNBP) calculations. Those calculations were carried out by the Forestry Ministry against PT Toshida Indonesia.
Deputy Chairman of the Ombudsman, Rahmadi Indra Tektona, expressed an apology for the suspect designation against Hery Susanto. He stated that his institution would respect the ongoing legal process.
“We regret that this incident occurred and are strongly committed to continuing to maintain public trust in public service oversight duties with full integrity,” said Rahmadi on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
He stated that the incident occurred during the Ombudsman’s leadership period 2021-2026. At that time, Hery served as Head of Main Assistant V handling energy affairs. He emphasised that the Ombudsman would be cooperative with law enforcement.