Fadia Arafiq Accused of Steering Employees to Vote for Her in Pekalongan Regional Election

Former Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq (FAR) is suspected of intervening to secure votes for herself in the 2024 regional election. KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo stated that FAR allegedly pressured outsourced employees working for her family’s company, PT Raja Nusantara Berjaya (RNB), within the Pekalongan Regional Government. ‘There is suspicion of intervention to ensure that in the election (Pilkada 2024) they vote for FAR,’ he said on Wednesday, 27 May 2026. KPK is committed to further investigating this in the ongoing corruption case against FAR. Budi added that the alleged intervention by FAR enriches KPK’s anti-corruption prevention efforts, particularly in examining political parties’ scenarios designed to favour specific candidates. Previously, on 3 March 2026, FAR was arrested alongside her aide and confidant in Semarang, Central Java. KPK also detained 11 others in Pekalongan. The arrests formed part of KPK’s seventh raid in 2026, coinciding with Ramadan 1447 Hijriah. On 4 March 2026, KPK named FAR as the sole suspect in a corruption case concerning the procurement of outsourced labour and other services in the Pekalongan Regional Government for the 2023-2026 fiscal year. KPK suspects FAR of conflict of interest for ensuring her family’s company, PT Raja Nusantara Berjaya (RNB), won several contracts within the regional government. FAR and her family are alleged to have received Rp19 billion from the contracts, with Rp13.7 billion retained by the singer of ‘Cik Cik Bum Bum’ and her family, Rp2.3 billion distributed to RNB director and domestic worker Rul Bayatun, and Rp3 billion in cash withdrawals yet to be distributed.