Pekalongan Regent Says She Was Target of KPK OTT While With Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi; Here is his response

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEMARANG — Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi has rejected statements by Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq regarding an arrest operation (OTT) that allegedly involved him. In an interview with reporters at the KPK’s Gedung Merah Putih on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, Fadia said she was arrested by KPK investigators while in his company.

Luthfi revealed that on the evening of Monday 2 March 2026, he did receive visits from several regents and vice-regents who met him at his residence in Semarang, including Fadia Arafiq. According to Luthfi, the meeting discussed the progress of the Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) programme in their respective regions.

That discussion also related to the upcoming MBG coordination meeting to be held at Gedung Gradhika Bakti Praja, Central Java Governor’s Office Complex, the following day or Tuesday 3 March 2026. Luthfi invited all regents/mayors in Central Java to attend the coordination meeting.

In the Monday night meeting with Luthfi, Fadia sought permission and said she could not attend the MBG coordination meeting as scheduled. Luthfi said there were no other discussions beyond that.

“I don’’t know if there was an OTT and so on. I only learned in the morning after the OTT occurred,” Luthfi said in a statement on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

According to him, the OTT against Fadia Arafiq should serve as a lesson for all officials in Central Java. “This should be a lesson for all regents/mayors, including us, including all civil servants in our area, to create clear and good governance in our region so as not to violate the law,” Luthfi said.