KPK examines seven witnesses in Malang to investigate assets of former Manpower Ministry Secretary General

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) examined seven witnesses in Malang, East Java, on Wednesday (8/4) to investigate the assets of former Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower, Hery Sudarmanto (HS). HS is a suspect in the alleged extortion case related to the processing of plans to employ foreign workers. “The witnesses were asked for statements for the purpose of tracing the assets of one of the suspects in this case, namely Mr HS,” said KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to journalists in Jakarta on Thursday. The witnesses include Tonny Martanto, Ngatimin, and Kusni Rohmatun Nisak from the private sector; Ni Ketut Sumedani and Handoko Soetikno as retirees; Prawiastuti Retno as a notary; and Winarno as a civil servant. Previously, on 5 June 2025, the KPK revealed the identities of eight suspects in the extortion case for processing RPTKA at the Ministry of Manpower, namely civil servants at the ministry: Suhartono, Haryanto, Wisnu Pramono, Devi Anggraeni, Gatot Widiartono, Putri Citra Wahyoe, Jamal Shodiqin, and Alfa Eshad. According to the KPK, these eight individuals collected around Rp53.7 billion from extortion in processing RPTKA between 2019 and 2024, during the tenure of Minister Ida Fauziyah. The KPK explained that RPTKA is a requirement that must be met by foreign workers to work in Indonesia. If the RPTKA is not issued by the Ministry of Manpower, the issuance of work permits and residence permits will be delayed, resulting in fines of Rp1 million per day for the foreign workers. Thus, RPTKA applicants are forced to give money to the suspects. In addition, the KPK revealed that the extortion case in processing RPTKA is suspected to have occurred since the era of Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar or Cak Imin as Minister of Manpower and Transmigration from 2009 to 2014, continued by Hanif Dhakiri from 2014 to 2019, and Ida Fauziyah from 2019 to 2024. On 29 October 2025, the KPK announced a new suspect in the case, namely the Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower during Hanif Dhakiri’s era, Hery Sudarmanto.