Ombudsman Had Warned Pemalang Regent Over Nepotism Before KPK Sting

The Indonesian Ombudsman for Central Java, Siti Farida, disclosed that her office had previously issued a warning to Pemalang Regent Anom Widyantoro regarding a conflict of interest, prior to his arrest in a sting operation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The warning concerned the regent’s decision to appoint his wife, Noor Faizah Maenofie, as a member of the supervisory board of the dr M Ashari Regional General Hospital in Pemalang. Siti stated that the warning about the conflict of interest was conveyed to Anom in 2026. “We specifically conveyed the potential conflict of interest regarding the appointment of the hospital supervisory board, who is the regent’s wife. We firmly stated that this was a potential conflict of interest,” she said in an interview on Wednesday (29/7/2026). She added that a conflict of interest is a form of maladministration in public service delivery. “Maladministration is the upstream source of corruption,” she stated. Siti explained that in 2025, the Ombudsman conducted a public service assessment in 15 districts and cities in Central Java, including Pemalang. For Pemalang specifically, she acknowledged a gap between the internal assessment results and the public’s assessment. The public provided many notes on the quality of public services there. “For Pemalang, the results in 2025 had not yet reached optimal,” Siti said. She noted that Pemalang’s public service score was quite good in 2024, but at that time the Ombudsman had not yet included the public trust indicator in the assessment process. “Once the public trust indicator was added, on average, there was a gap or a decline, including in Pemalang,” she said. Siti also mentioned that from 2025 to 2026, the Ombudsman received public reports and complaints regarding alleged maladministration in public services in Pemalang. “We always convey that maladministration is the gateway to corruption,” she added. The KPK arrested Regent Anom Widyantoro in a sting operation on Tuesday night (28/7/2026), along with 20 other individuals, in three separate locations: Jakarta, Pemalang, and Purworejo. The operation is linked to alleged corruption in project implementation within the Pemalang Regency and suspected practices of buying and selling government positions. Anom is the fifth regent in Central Java to be caught in a KPK sting operation, following the arrests of the regents of Pati, Pekalongan, Cilacap, and Sukoharjo.