Profile and Wealth of Chief Justice Sunarto, Whose Salary Prabowo Says Exceeds Singapore's Chief Justice

President Prabowo Subianto mentioned the salary of Chief Justice Sunarto during the MPR Annual Session at the Nusantara Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, 14 August 2026. In his speech, Prabowo revealed that he had received a report stating that Sunarto’s income was higher than that of the Chief Justice of Singapore. “In fact, the Chief Justice has reported to me that the income of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Indonesia is now higher than the income of the Chief Justice of Singapore,” Prabowo said. The statement was delivered when Prabowo was discussing the conditions and welfare of judicial institution leaders in Indonesia.

Chief Justice Sunarto was born in Sumenep, East Java, on 11 April 1959. He was inaugurated as a Supreme Court Justice on 22 July 2015. Two years later, on 29 March 2017, he was entrusted to lead the Supreme Court’s Supervisory Chamber, a position previously held by Muhammad Syarifuddin, who was later elected as Deputy Chief Justice for Judicial Affairs. Sunarto’s career within the Supreme Court leadership continued to rise. On 23 May 2018, he was appointed as Deputy Chief Justice for Non-Judicial Affairs, replacing H. Suwardi, who had entered retirement. Then, on 22 October 2024, Sunarto was officially inaugurated as Chief Justice for the 2024-2029 period, replacing Muhammad Syarifuddin, who had retired.

Before becoming the top official at the Supreme Court, Sunarto had a long track record in the judicial institution. He served as Deputy Chief of the Trenggalek District Court, Chief of the Trenggalek District Court, and as a High Court Judge at the Gorontalo High Court. Sunarto also served as a Regional Inspector at the Supreme Court Supervisory Body. His career progressed until he was entrusted to become the Head of the Supreme Court Supervisory Body. Sunarto completed his Bachelor of Laws at Airlangga University, Surabaya, in 1984. He then earned a Master of Laws from the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta in 2000. In 2012, Sunarto completed his doctoral studies in Law at Airlangga University. Beyond his primary duties as Chief Justice, Sunarto is also active in academic activities and various efforts to increase public trust in the judicial institution. He currently chairs the working group for the Acceleration of Public Trust Improvement in the Supervisory Sector. Sunarto also frequently serves as a resource person in national and international forums.