Shocking admission by Pekalongan Regent, alongside Central Java Governor during KPK raid

Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq appeared before the public wearing an orange vest of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), implying she has been named a suspect by the anti-graft body. When pressed by reporters waiting for her, Fadia said she was arrested by the KPK at her home while together with the Governor of Central Java, Ahmad Luthfi. ‘At the time of the arrest, they (KPK) raided the house, I was with Mr Governor of Central Java,’ she told reporters at the KPK building in Jakarta, as reported by Antara on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. When asked what they were discussing or what they were talking about with the Central Java Governor, she said they were discussing her absence from an event related to the Free Nutritious Meal programme (MBG). ‘We were discussing permissions, because I could not attend the MBG event,’ she said. Meanwhile, she said she was puzzled by the KPK regarding her arrest. ‘So, I did not commit any OTT, and not a single item was taken. By God, nothing happened,’ she said. Earlier, on 3 March 2026, the KPK announced a string of arrests during Ramadan, which was the seventh OTT of the year. The KPK said it arrested the Pekalongan Regent Fadia Arafiq together with aides and confidants in the Semarang area, Central Java. It then announced the arrest of 11 other people from Pekalongan, Central Java. One of those detained was the Secretary to the Pekalongan Regency government, Mohammad Yulian Akbar. The KPK said the OTT arrest of Fadia Arafiq was related to outsourcing procurement or contractor labour at several departments within the Pekalongan Regency Government.