Surprise as Selection Committee and DPR Overlook Hery Susanto's Corruption in Appointing Him as Ombudsman Chairman

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The selection and appointment process for Hery Susanto as Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman has come under scrutiny following his designation as a suspect in an alleged corruption case.

The selection committee (pansel) formed for the purpose, along with the DPR RI, have admitted to being unaware of any suspected legal issues involving Hery during the selection and fitness assessment process.

Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI, Zulfikar Arse, even extended an apology to the public over Hery Susanto’s passage through the process.

He emphasised that Commission II had no knowledge of the alleged corruption during the fitness and propriety test, or fit and proper test, conducted in January 2026.

“If there is indeed any mistake on our part as Commission II in carrying out our supervisory functions, particularly, we apologise to the public, including during the fit and proper test when we were about to select the individual again,” said Zulfikar when met at the DPR RI Building on Friday (17/4/2026).

Zulfikar explained that in the selection process, Commission II only chose the nine best candidates from the 18 names submitted by the pansel.

He assessed that all candidates put forward had undergone a transparent and objective process.

“Of course, the selection team also worked very well at the time, transparently and objectively, so when they produced the 18 names brought to the DPR, we assumed those were the best,” he stated.

“We just had to select the nine best from those 18, and in our view, those eight or nine were indeed worthy and suitable for selection at that time,” he added.

Nevertheless, Zulfikar expressed his concern over the case ensnaring Hery and hoped this event would serve as a lesson for all state officials.

The Golkar politician also stressed that Commission II is fully handing over the handling of the case to law enforcement authorities.

“We leave it entirely to the legal process. If it indeed concerns the law, then we must follow it and hand it over completely to the procedures, mechanisms, and applicable legal rules in our country,” he added.

Regarding the appointment of the next Ombudsman leadership, Zulfikar noted that it falls under the internal authority of the institution in accordance with the law.