Kuansing Regent Denies Giving Envelope to Menhut Raja Juli After Being Investigated by the KPK: Which One?

The non-active Regent of Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) Suhardiman Amby

JAKARTA - The non-active Regent of Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) Suhardiman Amby denied giving an envelope to the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni regarding the management of permits for the release of Limited Production Forest (HPT) areas. He even claimed not to know what was in it.

This statement was made by Suhardiman Amby after undergoing an examination as a suspect after being detained since the beginning of July.

"Which one is it? I don't know what it is. It's not me (who gave it)," said Suhardiman after undergoing an examination at the KPK's Red and White building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Friday, July 17.

Suhardiman's statement is in contrast to the KPK and Raja Juli's confessions.

KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo said investigators had received information about the envelope from Suhardiman after the hand-in-hand operation (OTT) some time ago.

"So far, only the regent has given information regarding the alleged provision, then the information related to it, we got it by confiscating money in the amount of 12,500 Singapore dollars," he said.

Meanwhile, Raja Juli, said he had returned the envelope of the gift from the regent of Kuansing. The return was made 17 days before the KPK carried out a silent operation against Suhardiman.

The envelope was left by Suhardiman at his office during an agenda for an audience with the Kuansing Regency Government, Tuesday, June 2.

The Secretary General of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) further claimed that he did not know the contents of the envelope left by Suhardiman. He also admitted that he immediately asked his aide to return it.

Raja Juli also reported the envelope as a refusal of gratification to the KPK. The KPK has completed the analysis regarding it and sent it to Raja Juli.

The process and mechanism for handling gratification reports are based on the Corruption Eradication Commission Regulation (Perkom) Number 1 of 2026 which is a change to Commission Regulation Number 2 of 2019 concerning Gratification Reporting.

Although the results cannot be conveyed to the public, Perkom 1 Year 2026 said that the report of the rejection of gratification by King Juli has the potential not to be followed up by the KPK. Because, there is a legal process that is ongoing.

As previously reported, the KPK named three people as suspects in the alleged bribery of the filling of the Kuansing Regent's post after conducting a hand-in-hand operation (OTT) on Monday, June 29. They are Kuansing Regent Suhardiman Amby, Kuansing Regent Zulkarnain, and Ardiles as President Director of PT Mitra Ideal Consultant.

In the construction of the case, Suhardiman allegedly asked for one unit of Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR-S worth around Rp2.05 billion to the participants of the selection for the position of the Regional Secretary.

The request was fulfilled by Zulkarnain who bought the vehicle through a credit scheme using Ardiles' identity for financing applications.

The KPK also found other alleged receipts made by Suhardiman related to the process of releasing Limited Production Forest (HPT) areas. Investigators are said to be tracing the amount of receipts, the mechanism of giving to the party suspected of receiving at the Ministry of Forestry.