Expert states that the Indonesian Ombudsman needs a supervisory board
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Legal expert and Secretary General of the Indonesian Association of Criminal Law and Criminology Lecturers (Asperhupiki), Ahmad Sofian, stated that the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) requires a supervisory board (dewas) to ensure that their duties remain within the proper scope of authority and do not violate the law.
“The absence of internal oversight within ORI means they do not have a supervisory board to ensure that their actions stay within the correct boundaries,” he said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
This assertion relates to the alleged corruption case implicating ORI Chairman Hery Susanto.
He said the Hery Susanto case serves as a strong signal to evaluate the oversight institution, including its existence, functions, and authority.
According to him, if the Ombudsman’s authority is limited to the realm of governance oversight of state organisers, it could lead to potential abuse of power.
“In addition, state bodies with oversight functions often overlap with inspectorates in ministries or non-ministerial state institutions, so sometimes they end up committing deviations, such as corruption, because they also realise their limited power,” he said.
To prevent similar criminal acts, Sofian emphasised that state oversight bodies similar to ORI need to be evaluated for their contribution to law enforcement.
“What authority and powers do these bodies, like ORI, have in taking action on public complaints, or is their power actually limited to providing recommendations rather than sanctions?” he said.
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) designated Hery Susanto as a suspect in an alleged corruption case involving nickel mining business governance activities from 2013 to 2025.
The suspect designation was made after the investigation team obtained sufficient evidence through a series of investigative actions, searches, and others.
Hery is alleged to have received a bribe of Rp1.5 billion from PT TSHI to arrange assistance for the company in resolving issues related to the calculation of non-tax state revenue (PNBP).