Home Affairs Ministry Expresses Concern Over Three Regents Caught in KPK Sting Operations Within a Month
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) has expressed concern over a number of regional heads ensnared in sting operations (OTT) conducted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Most recently, Sukoharjo Regent Etik Suryani was arrested by the KPK.
“Incidents like this have in fact happened several times now. Perhaps this month alone there have been three — Langkat, Kuantan Singingi, and Mrs Etik. We at the Ministry of Home Affairs are truly concerned that events like these keep recurring,” said Benni Irwan, Head of the Ministry’s Information Centre, when contacted on Sunday (12/7/2026).
Benni said the ministry respects the legal process being carried out by the KPK. He expressed hope that other regional heads could draw valuable lessons from the series of incidents.
“We at the Ministry of Home Affairs certainly fully respect the legal process. And we must all respect the ongoing legal process for every regional head caught in these sting operations,” he said.
“We at Kemendagri sincerely hope this does not happen again. Hopefully this can serve as a lesson for the other regional heads,” he continued.
Benni noted that once a regional head is formally named a suspect and detained, their deputy will be immediately appointed as acting regional head. This swift step is taken to ensure that governance and regional development continue to run smoothly.
“To ensure the wheels of government keep turning, and that development processes in Sukoharjo also continue in accordance with the applicable rules — once the regional head is declared a suspect and detained, the deputy regional head will carry out the duties of regional head (acting Regent of Sukoharjo),” he explained.
Previously, the KPK named Sukoharjo Regent Etik Suryani as a suspect in an alleged extortion case within the Sukoharjo Regency administration. Besides the regent, the KPK also named two of Etik’s subordinates as suspects.
“The KPK has escalated the case of alleged corruption related to extortion at the Sukoharjo Regency administration to the investigation stage, and has named three people as suspects,” said Asep Guntur Rahayu, Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, at a press conference on Saturday (11/7).
The following is the list of three people named suspects by the KPK:
Sukoharjo Regent Etik Suryani
Richard Tri Handoko, Head of the Regional Finance and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) of Sukoharjo Regency
Tri Mulyo, Head of the General Affairs Division of the Sukoharjo Regency Regional Secretariat