Islamic Boarding School Kiai in Pati Molests Dozens of Female Students, Sahroni Urges Perpetrator's Detention

Dozens of female students are suspected to have been victims of molestation by a kiai at the Ndolo Kusumo Islamic Boarding School in Tlogosari Village, Tlogowungu District, Pati Regency, Central Java. The kiai, identified by the initials A alias Ashari or Mbah Walid, has been designated a suspect by the Pati Police Resort. However, the molestation suspect has not yet been imprisoned. In response, Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Ahmad Sahroni, emphasised the importance of firmness from law enforcement against the perpetrator. This is to provide a deterrent effect and a warning to other Islamic boarding schools. “Law enforcement must impose severe punishment on the perpetrator who molested the female students, so that similar barbaric acts do not recur in other boarding schools. If he has been summoned twice and does not come, the police must forcibly apprehend him. Regarding the victims who withdraw their reports, I suspect there is interference, which is why the victims are afraid. The police must also investigate that suspicion,” Sahroni stated in his comments on Tuesday, 5 May 2026. Meanwhile, Sahroni also highlighted the oversight aspect from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which he deemed insufficiently strict. He also requested an evaluation of the boarding school’s permit. “The Ministry of Religious Affairs’ oversight must be enhanced. This case happened to be visible and detected, so it could be addressed; but what about those that are not detected? This becomes a major homework for the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Then, if it is proven that the suspected perpetrator is the owner of the boarding school, that boarding school must have its permit evaluated because similar incidents could recur,” Sahroni said.