KPK Sting Operation in Pemalang: DPRD Had Repeatedly Issued Warnings
The sting operation (OTT) conducted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) within the Pemalang Regency Government in Central Java, which targeted the regent, his wife, and several officials, had been predicted by members of the local Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD).
This was acknowledged by Heru Kundhimiarso, a member of Commission A of the Pemalang Regency DPRD. He stated that his institution had repeatedly issued warnings, urging the executive branch to be cautious in running the government, long before the KPK finally arrested Pemalang Regent Anom Widiyantoro in the sting operation on Tuesday (28/7).
Following a series of examinations of several officials, including the regent’s wife, Noor Faizah Maenofie, the KPK on Wednesday (29/7/2026) transported seven officials, including Noor Faizah Maenofie, by bus to the anti-corruption agency’s office in Jakarta.
For Heru, the KPK sting operation, which ultimately took seven officials from the Pemalang Regency Government and other parties to the KPK office in Jakarta, was a blow that had long been feared. He noted that four years ago, Pemalang was rocked by a similar case that also ensnared its regional head, and now that bitter history is repeating itself.
“I, personally and as a member of the DPRD, am concerned. Of course, we are shocked and did not expect this. Even though we had reminded them several times well in advance,” Heru told journalists on Wednesday evening (29/7).
Heru said his party chose to think rationally and not get caught up in grief, asking all parties to exercise restraint and fully hand over the handling of the case to the KPK. “We must appreciate the KPK’s performance and fully trust the law enforcement officers. Let the legal process run its course,” said Heru.
Heru expressed his hope that whatever the results of the investigation by the authorities, the wheels of government and public services in the Pemalang Regency Government would continue to run without disruption. “Of course, we hope that the government within the Pemalang Regency administration will continue to run normally, despite an incident like this,” said the PKB politician.
Heru stated that the DPRD’s oversight function has never been a mere formality on paper. Work meetings, special committee discussion forums, and official recommendations to the regional government have been routinely carried out, including his own personal warnings to the executive. “As a DPRD member mandated by the people, I have reminded them many times. Be careful in running the wheels of government, because everyone in government is certainly under supervision,” Heru explained.
According to Heru, one of the issues that the DPRD had sharply highlighted was the policy on honorary workers and the outsourcing scheme, an issue that has now become one of the points investigated by the KPK. At that time, the DPRD had even issued a recommendation for rejection, but the recommendation was not fully heeded by the executive. “A number of pieces of information that are now the KPK’s concern are actually not new. These issues have long been circulating in the community, long before investigators actually stepped in,” he explained.
Heru added that in a meeting forum several months ago, he had conveyed that Pemalang was in ‘outpatient care’ and he hoped it would not come to ‘inpatient care’. But in the end, the incident still happened.
“Regarding the alleged corruption of projects, the practice of buying and selling positions, and the seizure of more than Rp2 billion in cash revealed by the KPK, we in the DPRD will not rush to take a stance. An institutional stance will only be taken after the construction of the case is truly clear,” he asserted.
It was previously known that the KPK had arrested 21 people in the sting operation in Pemalang Regency, consisting of five people in Jakarta, 15 people in Pemalang, and one person in Purworejo. From the operation, investigators also seized more than Rp2 billion in cash, with allegations related to the receipt of money from local government projects and the practice of buying and selling positions. To date, the KPK is still conducting intensive examinations before officially announcing the suspect status and the construction of the case.