Four KPU Officials Reported Over Helicopter Travel
A civil society coalition has reported four election officials to the Election Organiser Honours Council over allegations of ethical violations concerning the use of a helicopter for an official trip in January 2024. The report was submitted on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.
The coalition assessed that the helicopter use failed to meet principles of efficiency, transparency, and accountability in state budgeting. They suspect the official trip resulted in wasteful public expenditure.
“The use of the helicopter with registration number PK-WSD for that trip is strongly suspected of lacking clear urgency,” said election activist Hadar Nafis Gumay in the coalition’s press release on Thursday, 14 May 2026.
In addition to Hadar Nafis as an individual, the complainants include researcher from Transparency International Indonesia, Agus Sarwono; researcher from Trend Asia, Zakki Amali; and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) through legal representatives Rizki Agus Saputra, Hamis Souwakil, and Jumhadi.
The four accused parties are members of the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU RI), Parsadaan Harahap; West Java KPU member Abdullah Syapi’i; KPU RI Secretary General Bernard Dermawan Sutrisno; and West Java KPU Secretary Achmad Syaifudin Rahadian.
The coalition highlighted the use of the helicopter registered PK-WSD for a trip to Cidaun subdistrict in Cianjur Regency, West Java, on 25 January 2024. The journey was for the inauguration of 1,463 members of the Voting Organising Groups (KPPS).
According to the coalition, the destination is not classified as a disadvantaged, frontier, or outermost (3T) area. The distance from Jakarta to Cidaun is approximately 239 kilometres and can be covered by land in about five hours.
The coalition stated that the use of air transport contravenes Minister of Finance Regulation No. 113/PMK.05/2012 as amended by PMK No. 119 of 2023 on domestic official travel. The regulation requires official trips to be conducted selectively, considering efficiency and accountability in state budget use.
In the report, the coalition also spotlighted the high cost of the trip. The helicopter hire was said to have consumed a budget of Rp 198.9 million from PT Whitesky Aviation.
However, based on estimates for hiring a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter, the cost for a 2-hour 14-minute flight is around US$3,127 or equivalent to Rp 49.5 million. “The state had to allocate funds nearly four times higher,” he said.
The coalition also questioned the lack of public disclosure regarding the procurement plan or actual use of the helicopter. They viewed this as reinforcing suspicions of ethical violations related to integrity and propriety in state budget use.
On that basis, the complainants request that the DKPP accept the entire complaint, declare the accused guilty of serious ethical breaches, and impose permanent dismissal sanctions on all of them. Tempo is still seeking responses from the reported parties.