DPR Commission II Explains Proposal to Increase Regional Heads' Salaries from PAD
The House of Representatives’ (DPR) Commission II has proposed that regional heads receive more rational and proportional financial rights. The hope is that such an increase will minimise future cases of regional heads becoming entangled in corruption.
Commission II Chairman Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karyasuda stated that his commission is proposing the additional income through a scheme involving the distribution of locally generated revenue (PAD), as regional heads play a role in boosting PAD.
“We are proposing an ideal figure of around 20 percent, which would also be shared with the deputy regional head. However, we are waiting to see what the government’s proposal will be,” Rifqi said at the DPR, MPR, and DPD complex on Thursday, 2 July 2026.
He argued that if this proposal can be properly accommodated through regulation, there is hope that corruption cases involving regional heads can at least be minimised to prevent recurrence.
Regarding differing views that increasing income is not a single solution to mitigating corruption, given that corruption occurs due to greed and other factors, he said that consideration is a separate matter.
In this proposal, he stressed, Commission II is merely trying to ensure that a number of regulations and governance procedures can function properly, especially in preventing corrupt practices by regional heads.
He continued that if the proposed 20 percent share of PAD is deemed too large—since 90 percent of regional governments at both the provincial and district/city levels are not yet fiscally independent, with average PAD currently less than 30 percent of the regional budget—then the proposal can be re-evaluated by considering the fiscal capacity of each region. He cited Jakarta as an example, where fiscal independence reaches around 60 percent.
“For a region like Jakarta, the distribution should not be 20 percent because that would be excessive. The distribution should be made proportionally,” said the NasDem Party politician.
The primary consideration behind Commission II’s proposal to increase regional heads’ income is the high political cost of regional elections. These high costs are suspected to be one of the factors driving regional heads to commit corruption. Another factor is that the income of regional heads is still considered far from rational and proportional.
“Previously, Commission II received input from the Association of Deputy Regional Heads; they conveyed the same issue, namely that financial rights are still very limited,” Rifqi said.
Throughout 2026, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested eight regional heads in alleged corruption cases. Among them are Pati Regent Sudewo, Madiun Mayor Maidi, and most recently, Kuantan Singingi Regent Suhardiman Amby. Suhardiman was caught in a KPK sting operation on Wednesday, 1 July, in a case involving alleged bribery related to the appointment of a regional secretary. On the same day, the anti-corruption agency also named Suhardiman a suspect.