Five Central Java Regents Caught in OTT Had Prior Maladministration Reports

The head of the Ombudsman’s Central Java office, Siti Farida, said the Ombudsman had received reports of maladministration in public services from a number of regencies and cities across Central Java. The five regions whose regents were caught in Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sting operations were among those reported.

“All five regional heads who were hit by, excuse me, sting operations are regional heads who also had reports filed against them at the Ombudsman,” Siti said in an interview on Wednesday (29/7/2026).

The five regional heads are the regents of Pati, Pekalongan, Cilacap, Sukoharjo and, most recently, Pemalang. “All of them were proven to have committed maladministration,” Siti said.

She cited the case of Pemalang Regent Anom Widyantoro, who was recently caught in a KPK sting operation. Farida said the Central Java Ombudsman had this year issued a formal warning to Anom over maladministration practices in his administration. This related to Anom’s decision to appoint his wife, Noor Faizah Maenofie, as a member of the Supervisory Board of dr. M. Ashari Regional Hospital in Pemalang.

“We specifically raised the potential conflict of interest regarding the appointment of the hospital’s supervisory board, given that the appointee was the regent’s wife. We clearly stated that there was a potential conflict of interest,” Siti said.

She added that conflicts of interest are a form of maladministration in the delivery of public services. “Maladministration is the upstream source of corruption,” she said.