Pekalongan Regent Performs Only Ceremonial Duties, Delegates Bureaucracy to Subordinates

Jakarta — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said Fadia Arafiq (FAR) admitted she only performed ceremonial functions during her tenure as Pekalongan Regent, thus not understanding the law or governance. ‘She carried out more ceremonial duties within Pekalongan Regency. That is what FAR stated during her testimony,’ said KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu at the Merah Putih Building, KPK, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. In addition, he said Farida admitted handing over bureaucratic government tasks to Pekalongan Regency Secretary Mohammad Yulian Akbar. Nevertheless, the KPK said the claim by the two-term Pekalongan Regent contradicts the principle of presumptio iures de iure or the theory of legal fiction. ‘FAR is a regent or state administrator for two terms and previously served as deputy regent from 2011-2016, so she should understand the implementation of good governance principles in local government,’ he said. Earlier, on 3 March 2026, KPK conducted a series of arrest operations during Ramadan, also its seventh such operation this year. KPK arrested Fadia Arafiq together with aides and trusted associates in the Semarang area, Central Java. The KPK then announced the arrest of 11 other people from Pekalongan, Central Java. On 4 March 2026, KPK named Fadia Arafiq as the sole suspect in a case of alleged corruption related to outsourcing services or labour leasing, and other procurements within Pekalongan Regency Government for the 2023-2026 budget year.