Ministry of Religious Affairs Responds to Alleged Sodomy by Pesantren Teacher Against Santri in Central Lombok

The Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has responded to a case of alleged sexual abuse against four santri at a pesantren. The alleged sexual violence involves a pesantren teacher identified by the initials MYA.

Head of the Diniyah Education and Pesantren Section (PD Pontren) of Kemenag Lombok Tengah, Muhamad Salim, said he had received information on the matter. Salim said Kemenag had handed the handling of the case to law enforcement authorities.

‘Because this is already being handled by the authorities, we at the Lombok Tengah Kemenag office pass it to the authorities to proceed with the next legal process,’ Salim told detikBali on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

The Lombok Tengah Police have named MYA as a suspect in a sexual abuse case involving santri in the Pujut district. MYA is suspected of sodomising four of his santri. Of the four, one is a victim of intercourse and three are victims of molestation.

The case came to light after one of the victims suffered health issues. Medical examinations showed that the victim was infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Currently, MYA has been secured and detained at the Lombok Tengah Police Headquarters (Mapolres Lombok Tengah).

Salim expressed deep concern over the case. He said that the Lombok Tengah Kemenag, in cooperation with the Lombok Tengah District Attorney’s Office (Kejari Lombok Tengah), had already carried out coaching and guidance for pesantren in the area.

‘We have already carried out visits to provide guidance and outreach to several pesantren in the form of the Jaksa Masuk Pesantren programme,’ he added.

According to Salim, the national Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag RI) will review the licensing of all pesantren in Indonesia. He said a pesantren’s licence could be revoked if irregularities are detected.

‘It will be reviewed for all pesantren across Indonesia, not just in Lombok Tengah. If a pesantren has deviated from the juklak and juknis provisions and does not meet the criteria of the rukun Ponpes, its licence will be frozen,’ Salim said.

So far, he continued, no pesantren in Lombok Tengah has had its licence frozen despite the leadership’s case. Salim emphasised that freezing a pesantren’s establishment licence falls under the authority of Kemenag RI.