Pekalongan Regent in KPK orange vest, arrested in a KPK sting while with Central Java Governor

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq appeared before reporters wearing the orange vest of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a sign that she has been effectively named as a suspect by the anti-corruption agency.

When asked by reporters waiting for her, Fadia said she was arrested by the KPK at her home while she was with Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi.

‘At the time of the arrest, they (the KPK) raided the house; I was with the Governor of Central Java,’ Fadia told reporters at the KPK’s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Wednesday.

When asked what they were discussing or what she was discussing with the Jateng Governor, she said they were discussing her absence from an event related to the Free Nutritious Meals programme (MBG).

‘We were discussing permission, because I could not attend the MBG event,’ she said.

Meanwhile, she said she was baffled by the KPK over her arrest.

‘So, I was not involved in any OTT, and not a single rupiah was taken (for the record). By God, there was nothing,’ she said.

Earlier, on 3 March 2026, the KPK announced it had conducted a sting operation during Ramadan and this was the seventh sting operation of the year.

The KPK said it arrested Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq together with aides and trusted associates in the Semarang area, Central Java.

Subsequently, the KPK announced the arrest of 11 others from Pekalongan, Central Java. One of those arrested was Pekalongan Regency Secretary Mohammad Yulian Akbar.

Meanwhile, the KPK said the OTT arrest of Fadia Arafiq related to outsourcing or labour staffing procurement in several departments of the Pekalongan Regency Government.