Replacement for Hery Susanto Handed Over to RI Ombudsman's Internal Mechanism
Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI, Zulfikar Arse Sadikin, stated that the replacement of Hery Susanto has been handed over to the internal mechanism of the RI Ombudsman. The institution, according to him, has its own procedures for selecting a replacement for the chairman embroiled in a legal case.
Chairman of the RI Ombudsman, Hery Susanto, was designated as a suspect by the Attorney General’s Office in a suspected corruption case involving nickel mining governance from 2013 to 2025 on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.
“At the initial selection of leadership, Commission II was indeed involved. But once it is underway, there is a separate mechanism regulated by law, and that becomes the internal authority of the Ombudsman,” Zulfikar said at the DPR RI complex on Friday, 17 April 2026.
He added that there are no plans for a hearing to discuss the matter as yet. This is because the DPR will soon enter a recess period.
Meanwhile, the RI Ombudsman conveyed an apology regarding the arrest of Hery Susanto.
“The RI Ombudsman Leadership for the 2026–2031 period extends apologies for the public inconvenience and regrets this incident. We are committed to maintaining public trust in our public service oversight duties with full integrity,” said Deputy Chairman of the RI Ombudsman, Rahmadi Indra Tektona, in a written statement on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
Rahmadi emphasised that his institution respects the ongoing legal process and hands over the case handling to law enforcement authorities.
He also assured that the organisation’s operations will continue to run. The Ombudsman, he said, will take internal steps in accordance with institutional mechanisms to ensure that public service oversight functions are not disrupted.
Hery Susanto was arrested a week after being inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Chairman of the RI Ombudsman for the 2026–2031 period. He took the oath of office on 10 April 2026.
The Attorney General’s Office designated Hery as a suspect in the suspected corruption case involving nickel mining business governance in Southeast Sulawesi from 2013 to 2025.
In this case, Hery is suspected of violating Article 12 letter a, subsidiar Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Corruption Eradication Law. He is alleged to have received Rp 1.5 billion so that the Ombudsman would issue an Inspection Result Report correcting the Ministry of Forestry’s decision regarding the calculation of non-tax state revenues (PNBP) for PT Toshida Indonesia.