KPK Examination: Acting Cilacap Regent Claims Ignorance of Regent's Extortion
Acting Regent (Plt) of Cilacap, Ammy Amalia Fatma Surya, claimed she had no knowledge whatsoever of the alleged extortion practices by Regent Syamsul Auliya Rachman, who is now a detainee of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Ammy made this statement after undergoing examination as a witness at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon (5/5).
“I really don’t know anything about it, truly, and I was never involved or asked to discuss it. I didn’t even know at all that such things (extortion) were happening,” said Ammy at the KPK office.
She also claimed ignorance of the practice of providing Eid al-Fitr Allowances (THR) from the local government to the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda).
“Oh dear, don’t ask me if it’s usual or not [providing THR to Forkopimda]. I’ve never done it, after all. So, whether it’s usual or not, I don’t know,” she added.
According to Ammy, this lack of knowledge stems from her previous position as a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI). She stated that the authority of a deputy regent is very limited.
“Before becoming deputy regent, I was at the centre, in the DPR RI, so I don’t understand the practices in the region like that; I don’t know. A deputy regent’s authority is limited, to say the least—almost none. So, I just enjoyed being a deputy regent,” she said.
Ammy added that during this examination, she received many questions from the KPK investigators. The majority concerned the duties of a deputy regent.
“I was just asked if I knew about (the extortion practices) or not? Well, I didn’t know anything. Then, what are the duties of a deputy regent so far? To whom am I accountable? Well, I’m accountable to Mas Syamsul. Then, what does a deputy regent do? A deputy regent’s job is to assist the regent,” she explained.
The KPK has detained Cilacap Regent for the 2025-2030 period, Syamsul Auliya Rachman, and the Cilacap Regional Secretary, Sadmoko Danardono, as suspects in the alleged criminal extortion and other receipts case for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year.
The two suspects are alleged to have demanded a sum of money from each regional apparatus in Cilacap Regency with a “contribution target” of Rp750 million. The money was intended to be used as THR for external parties.
Cilacap Regency has 25 regional apparatuses, 2 Regional General Hospitals (RSUD), and 20 Community Health Centres (Puskesmas).
Initially, each work unit (satker) was targeted to contribute between Rp75 million and Rp100 million. In reality, the contributions received varied from Rp3 million to Rp100 million per regional apparatus.
From 9-13 March 2025, 23 regional apparatuses in Cilacap Regency had contributed to the regent’s request, collected through FER (Ferry Adhi Dharma, Assistant II of Cilacap Regency), totalling Rp610 million.
The contribution money was then to be handed over by FER to Sadmoko Danardono as the Cilacap Regional Secretary.
For their actions, Syamsul Auliya Rachman and Sadmoko Danardono are charged with violating Article 12 letter e and/or Article 12B of the Corruption Eradication Law (UU Tipikor) in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.
In the ongoing investigation process, the KPK has searched several locations in Cilacap, Central Java, to gather evidence for the case.
The locations in question include the regent’s official residence and office, the regional secretariat office, as well as the offices of Assistants 1, 2, and 3.
Investigators found and seized evidentiary items allegedly related to the case, such as documents and several Electronic Evidentiary Items (BBE), including mobile phones containing chats related to the collection of money from agency heads to their respective division heads.