Alone On Observation, Judge Zaenal Arief Dies At Kos: KY Asks For More Human Rights Placement

One of the senior judges who is also known as the spokesman for the Palembang District Court Raden Zaenal Arief, SH, MH, died in Palembang, South Sumatra, Wednesday (12/11/2025) at around 07.00 WIB. BETWEEN/Mahendra Putra

JAKARTA The Judicial Commission (KY) expressed its condolences for the death of the Judge of the Palembang District Court (PN), South Sumatra, Raden Zaenal Arief, who was found dead in his boarding house. KY also encourages the aspect of judges' welfare to get more attention from policy makers.

KY member Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata said the judges' welfare needs to be seen from the social and family dimensions. According to him, the placement of judges should consider the location of tasks close to their spouses and families, both for judges who have partners with judges and non-judd judges.

"Even though they have obtained official housing facilities or house rental fees such as boarding houses, with such a large workload and a tendency to store psychological burdens, it is important when on duty to be brought closer to their families," Mukti said in a statement received in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, November 14.

In addition, KY assessed that the psychological aspect of judges is also important to pay attention to. Judges, according to Mukti, are vulnerable to mental stress due to the distance from family placement, high burden on cases, welfare conditions, and pressure on handling cases.

If this condition is not consulted with mental health professionals, he continued, the physical health of judges could also be affected.

"If complaints or psychological pressure are only stored and not expressed by telling an expert, it can make the judge's psychological or mental condition and the judge's physical health condition not be good," said Mukti.

KY previously conducted a welfare survey of 567 judges at the first to the appeal level in the entire judicial environment. The survey covered aspects of finance, professionalism, psychology, social-family, and morals and integrity. The results have been submitted to the Supreme Court as a policy recommendation.

Mukti explained that one of the important recommendations is the reform of the judge's placement and mutation system. The government through the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform is considered necessary to support the transformation of mutation patterns from the national system towards regional-based mutations.

"This new system will pay attention to the social responsibility and condition of the judge's family, as well as consider geographical characteristics, caseloads, and the vulnerability level of the assignment area," he said.

KY also assessed that there needs to be a review of the classification of types and classes of courts so that the workload is more balanced and professional awards are more proportional.

Previously, a senior judge who was also a spokesman for the Palembang District Court, Raden Zaenal Arief, died on Wednesday (12/11). He was found dead in his boarding house in the Dwikora area, Palembang, after security officers checked his room because he felt it was strange that Raden had not come out since morning.

The head of the Palembang Class IA Special District Court, I Nyoman Wiguna, expressed his deep condolences for the death of Raden.

We really miss the role model judge. The deceased is not only a colleague, but also a role model for many young judges. He is always friendly, polite, and has extraordinary integrity in carrying out his duties," said Nyoman.

A number of colleagues said that Raden had complained of chest pain in the last few days, but still worked without telling many stories about his condition.

"He is a very disciplined and highly dedicated type. Even though he is not healthy, he still tries to be present in court. He never once complained," said Indra, an employee of the Palembang District Court.

The Palembang District Court is now taking care of returning the bodies to Bandung, West Java, for burial at the family cemetery.