The Minister Of Home Affairs Calls Five Acting Regional Heads Affected By Legal Cases

Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian said that until June 9, 2024, there were five regional heads (Pj) out of a total of 271 people who had problems or were subject to legal cases.

He explained that four of the five of them had problems with stumbling cases before serving as Acting Regional Heads.

"Only one had a problem when he took office, namely the Acting Regent of Sorong Regency (Yan Pet Mosso, ed.) who was exposed to OTT (arrest operation) by the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) related to gratification to individuals from the Supreme Audit Agency," Tito said in a working meeting of Commission II DPR, Monday, June 10.

He explained that the other four were former Acting Regent of Bombana, Burhanuddin, who had been questioned by the Southeast Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati Sultra).

"Because the information from the Prosecutor's Office, examined, and has the potential to become a suspect, we will replace it," Tito explained.

Furthermore, he said, the case of former West Bandung Regent Arsan Latif who was named a suspect by the West Java Prosecutor's Office was an old case.

"When he was at the Ministry of Home Affairs, he personally gave a consultation on the manufacture of a Perbup (Majalengka Regent Regulation, ed.), but the creation of his Perbup was considered a violation. This is an old event," he explained.

In addition, he said that former Acting Regent of Tanimbar Islands Ruben Benharvioto Moriokossu, and former Acting Mayor of Tanjungpinang Hasan, were old cases before serving as Acting.

"In Tanjungpinang it was even worse. It was the 2014 incident when he was the sub-district head (East Bintan sub-district head, ed.). It is suspected that according to the examiner, the investigator was there from the Regional Police, because he received Rp150 million for land affairs when he was the sub-district head in 2014, only now appears," he said.

Meanwhile, he emphasized that the government would take steps to remove the Acting Regional Head if he stumbled on a legal case, either being a suspect or potentially a suspect.

"We got the information, yes, we changed it. We don't want to take the risk," he explained.

Tito said 266 other regional heads in general showed good performance, and were accepted by the community.