Suspected of Operating a Fictitious Village-Owned Enterprise, West Lombok Village Government Reported to Police

The Terong Tawah Village Government in Labuapi Subdistrict, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has been reported to the police by its residents. The report was submitted to the West Lombok Police Resort due to suspicions that the Terong Tawah Village Government is operating a fictitious village-owned enterprise (BUMDes). Chairman of the Terong Tawah Village Community Forum (Formaster), Agus Sueb Biantara, stated that the report was filed because of several irregularities in the management of the BUMDes. According to him, the Terong Tawah Village Government has never been transparent about the organisational structure or financial reports of the BUMDes. “This BUMDes belongs to the village, but the community does not know who the managers are, there has never been a report, and even the type of business is unclear,” said Agus on Thursday (7/5/2026). Agus revealed that the BUMDes is recorded as having received capital injections from the village twice, amounting to approximately Rp 112 million in 2020 and Rp 149 million in 2023. However, accountability reports have never been published to the public. “The accountability reports and financial statements have never been provided to the community. After all, village funds come from the state budget and should be transparent,” Agus emphasised. Before reporting to the police, Agus claimed to have repeatedly attempted to resolve the matter amicably. However, according to him, the Terong Tawah Village Government never responded. In addition, Agus said he had sent a summons and a lawsuit to the NTB Information Commission (KI) in December 2025. However, the Terong Tawah Village Government is known to have never attended despite being summoned three times. “This further strengthens our suspicion that something is being hidden. We have tried all avenues, but there was no response. That’s why we reported it to the police,” Agus stressed. The Secretary of Terong Tawah Village, Sekarwadi, denied the allegations that the BUMDes there is fictitious. He affirmed that the BUMDes is administratively registered under the name BUMDes Terong Manis. Nevertheless, Sekarwadi does not know detailed information regarding the operations or financial reports of the BUMDes. “From the village records, it exists, but regarding the work inside and the financial reports, we do not know much,” said Sekarwadi.