Home Affairs Ministry Records 504 Corruption Cases Involving Regional Heads Since 2005
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto has highlighted corruption cases committed by regional heads. He revealed that over the past two decades, there have been 504 such corruption cases.
“Data shows that since 2005, there have been 504 corruption cases involving regional heads,” said Bima while attending the Deliberation of the Central Java Provincial Medium-Term Development Plan for 2027 at the Central Java Governor’s Office in Semarang City on Tuesday (28/4/2026).
Based on data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the regional heads with the highest number of corruption cases are regents, with 284 cases, followed by mayors with 78 cases, deputy regents with 66 cases, governors with 39 cases, deputy mayors with 25 cases, and deputy governors with 7 cases. There are also cases involving acting regents, numbering 4, and acting mayors, numbering 1.
“In Central Java, there are 41 cases (of regional head corruption since 2005). This is a fact, this is the reality,” Bima stated.
With these 41 cases, Central Java contributes around 8 percent of the regional head corruption cases that have occurred since 2005. “That’s why we are now evaluating the Election Law, regarding how to produce leaders and how to select them,” said Bima.
On that occasion, Bima also touched on the term “deep state” that has been mentioned by the President. He said that figures of regional leaders will always change, but the bureaucracy tends to remain static.
“When the President last gathered the ministers, he also invited all echelon I officials from ministries and agencies. And when explaining the deep state, his eyes were looking at the echelon I officials. He said, ‘Don’t let the President’s vision, the ministers’ vision, be hindered by the bureaucracy’,” Bima quoted.
“The President said, ‘I once heard of a minister who couldn’t move a director general of permits’. This is the deep state, namely when the bureaucracy ‘fights’ against its leadership that has a vision agreed upon nationally,” Bima added.
He emphasised that local governments also need to ensure that the deep state does not exist in their bureaucratic structures. “Yes, the regional secretary, the regional apparatus work units, must truly work in the context of meritocracy and be fully controlled,” he said.
Nevertheless, Bima assessed that a meritocracy-based bureaucracy also requires support from regional heads. “Now the question is, if the bureaucracy is right, is the regional head right or not? This was also reminded by the President,” said Bima.
Therefore, Bima revealed that the government is currently evaluating the Election Law. This is in view of the fact that there have been more than 500 corruption cases involving regional heads over the past 20 years.