Langkat Regent Remains Tight-Lipped After KPK Names Him Bribery Suspect

Langkat Regent Syah Afandin, known as Ondim, was tight-lipped when he appeared before the public after being named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in an alleged bribery case. “No. Thank you, thank you,” Ondim said at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building in Jakarta on Saturday, when asked by journalists whether he had anything to convey to the public. When questioned about the alleged bribe he received, he chose not to answer and immediately entered a KPK detention vehicle. The KPK had previously conducted a sting operation in Langkat, Binjai, and Medan, North Sumatra, on 2 July 2026. During the operation, the KPK arrested Ondim, a civil servant in Langkat Regency, and five individuals from the private sector. On 3 July 2026, the KPK named Ondim and his former campaign team member from the 2024 regional election, Yaqub Abdhal Al Mu’arif, as suspects in a bribery case involving projects within the Langkat Regency Government for the 2025-2026 period. Ondim is suspected of receiving a bribe of Rp800 million out of a total agreed sum of Rp1.117 billion. The money was allegedly given by Yaqub to Ondim after winning 80 projects under the Langkat Education Office and five projects under the Langkat Housing and Settlement Areas Office in 2025.