KPK suspects Rejang Lebong regent sought project fees for holiday bonus disbursements
Jakarta – The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) suspects Rejang Lebong Regent Muhammad Fikri Thobari (MFT) demanded bribes or project fees of approximately 10-15 percent from appointed contractors to meet expenses ahead of Eid 1447 Hijriah, including distributing holiday bonuses to residents.
“The alleged request for fees or advance payments to contractors appointed by the regent was due to needs approaching Eid,” stated KPK Deputy for Investigation and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu at KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Asep further stated that the KPK suspects Thobari acted this way because he was burdened by the tradition or custom of regional heads distributing holiday bonuses.
“There is something that has already become a custom, not an obligation, like the holiday bonus. That is not written down, but it has become the custom of a leader or regional head. In the end, it becomes a burden – can an official not give out holiday bonuses? That is one of the reasons,” he explained.
Additionally, he stated the KPK suspects Thobari did not have money from legitimate sources to set aside for the holiday bonus.
“Of course, it is expected that this would come from legitimate funds. However, perhaps because he did not yet have the money, he covered it up in this manner,” he said.
The fee over the contract award was set at 10-15 percent of the value of public works projects under the budget year 2026. The Public Works Department’s budget for this year is known to reach Rp91.13 billion.
Previously, on 9 March 2026, the KPK arrested Rejang Lebong Regent Muhammad Fikri Thobari, Deputy Regent Hendri, and 11 others in a coordinated operation regarding alleged bribery related to projects within the Rejang Lebong District Government in Bengkulu.
On 10 March 2026, the KPK brought the regent and deputy regent to Jakarta along with seven others for intensive questioning.
On the same date, the KPK also announced Muhammad Fikri Thobari as one of five suspects in an alleged corruption case involving bribery.
On 11 March 2025, the KPK announced the identities of the suspects: Muhammad Fikri Thobari (MFT), Head of the Public Works, Spatial Planning, Housing and Settlement Areas Department of Rejang Lebong Hary Eko Purnomo (HEP), Irsyad Satria Budiman (IRS) as a private party representative from PT Statika Mitra Sarana, Edi Manggala (EDM) as a private party representative from CV Manggala Utama, and Youki Yusdiantoro (YK) as a private party representative from CV Alpagker Abadi.
They are suspects in an alleged bribery scheme involving advance payment project fees within the Rejang Lebong District Government in Bengkulu, for budget years 2025–2026.