Orange Jumpsuit: Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq Denies Arrest in KPK Sting

JAKARTA — Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq has denied being arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in an arrest operation (OTT). She had already been placed in a KPK detention vest and was being led into a KPK transport vehicle at the Merah Putih Building in Jakarta on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. ‘I was not OTT; I did not have any items taken,’ Fadia said. She said the KPK team arrested her at a house where she was with Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi. ‘We were together with the Governor of Central Java, so there was no OTT and no items taken, not even a penny,’ she said. She explained that the meeting with Ahmad Luthfi concerned a permit because she could not attend the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme event. ‘No, we were discussing permission because I could not attend the MBG event,’ she added. ‘No, I did not attend; that was not mine; it was a family-owned company, not mine,’ she stated. Fadia said she would discuss with her legal team about filing a pretrial challenge in relation to the alleged corruption case. ‘Yes, I will discuss with my lawyers, because I swear to God there was no OTT, not a single rupiah, and not a single official,’ she said. ‘People involved were detained in Semarang, and this morning the three parties were brought to Jakarta for further questioning,’ KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo said at the Merah Putih Building, Jakarta, on Tuesday. The KPK also detained 11 other people as part of the OTT, including Pekalongan Regency Secretary HM Yulian Akbar. ‘The alleged criminal act relates to procurement of goods and services, including PBJ outsourcing within the Pekalongan Regency Government. It is suspected to involve several departments,’ Budi said. The KPK suspects there was rigging in outsourcing procurement across several Pekalongan agencies so that particular private firms could win contracts to deliver goods or services to the Pekalongan Regency Government.