Ombudsman Chairman Arrested, Commission II Apologises Over Fit and Proper Test

Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) has conveyed an apology if there were any mistakes in the fit and proper test for Ombudsman RI commissioners.

The apology relates to Ombudsman RI Chairman Hery Susanto, who is implicated in a corruption case concerning the management of nickel mining in Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) from 2013 to 2025.

“If there is indeed any fault on our part in Commission II in carrying out supervisory functions, especially, we apologise to the public, including during the fit and proper test when we were about to reselect the individual,” said Deputy Chairman of Commission II DPR RI, Zulfikar Arse, at the parliamentary complex on Friday (17/4).

He stated that Commission II was unaware of the case during the fit and proper test. Zulfikar mentioned that his commission fully trusted the results produced by the selection team.

The selection team worked and submitted 18 names to Commission II DPR RI, including Hery’s name.

“We just selected from those 18 the 9 best of the best, and according to us, those 8 or 9 were indeed worthy and appropriate for us to choose at that time,” he said.

He conveyed that Commission II is concerned about the case and urges state officials to take it as a lesson to prevent recurrence.

“We leave it entirely to the legal process. If it involves the law, we must follow it and entrust it fully to the procedures, mechanisms, and applicable legal rules in our country,” he said.

Previously, Ombudsman RI Chairman Hery Susanto was designated as a suspect in the corruption case regarding the management of nickel mining in Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) from 2013 to 2025.

Director of Investigation for the Attorney General’s Office’s Special Crimes Division, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated that Hery played a role in issuing a letter correcting the amount of state non-tax revenue (PNBP) from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut).

Hery also examined Kemenhut and arranged for it to appear as though the fine imposed on PT TSHI was erroneous. As a result, a corrective letter was issued by the Ombudsman, instructing PT TSHI to calculate its own burden to be paid to the state.

For his actions that benefited PT TSHI, Syarief stated that Hery received a reward of Rp1.5 billion in 2025.