Legislator Highlights Corruption Patterns Among Regional Heads

A member of the House of Representatives’ Commission II, Muhammad Khozin, has highlighted the rampant corruption cases involving regional heads. He stated that the corrupt acts frequently ensnaring regional heads follow a common pattern. “The patterns are the buying and selling of positions, granting of permits, and corruption in the procurement of goods and services,” he said when contacted on Saturday, 4 July 2026. Therefore, improvement measures that need to be prioritised concern reforming the system for appointing officials in the regions, granting permits, and procurement policies. “There must be a design to close corruption loopholes in the regions, as well as collaboration with law enforcement agencies for prevention,” he said. Furthermore, he assessed that gaps still exist which allow regional heads to commit these misappropriations. This condition serves as a serious signal for improving regional governance. “The Ministry of Home Affairs, as the supervisor of regional governments, must design governance that leaves no room for corruption in the regions,” said the National Awakening Party politician. He added that fundamental steps for governance improvement also need to be reorganised, including designing regional head elections that are not capital-intensive. Khozin said the plan to amend the Regional Election Law is a momentum to design a regional head election system that is no longer capital-intensive. Thus, he said, elected regional heads would no longer be obliged to recoup political capital. Throughout mid-2026, nine regional heads were recorded as being ensnared in corruption cases by the Corruption Eradication Commission, most recently the Regent of Kuantan Singingi, Suhardiman Amby, and the Regent of Langkat, Syah Afandin. In a separate occasion, the Chairman of House Commission II, Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, proposed increasing the financial rights of regional heads. According to him, the income of regional heads, which includes basic salary, facilities, and current position allowances, is still limited and irrational. The financial rights of regional heads are regulated in various regulations, such as Government Regulation Number 59 of 2000 concerning basic salary, Presidential Decree Number 68 of 2001 concerning position allowances, and Government Regulation Number 109 of 2000 concerning facilities and operational support costs. Rifqinizamy proposed that regional heads and deputies ideally receive 20 percent of the locally generated revenue. “The salary of a regional head is only around Rp5 million to Rp6 million, while the political costs are high,” he said on Thursday, 2 July 2026. The commission overseeing regional autonomy has also received aspirations from the Association of Deputy Regional Heads to revise regulations related to the financial rights of regional heads. The Ministry of Home Affairs is encouraged to increase the income of regional heads more proportionally and reasonably. “If these financial rights are properly regulated, our hope is that abuse of authority, including corruption, can be minimised. But if the corruption case is due to greed, that is another matter,” said Rifqinizamy.