TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several activists who are part of the Civil Society Coalition Against Corruption have reported alleged corruption related to the organization of the regional heads' retreat held at the Magelang Military Academy (Akmil) in Central Java.

The alleged corruption was reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday, February 28, 2025.

One of the activists who filed the report is Feri Amsari, a constitutional law expert from Andalas University.

According to Feri, the process of coaching and training regional heads did not comply with the provisions of the Constitution and Regional Government Law.

Feri also highlighted the alleged conflict of interest in the appointment of PT Lembah Tidar Indonesia to handle the retreat's preparations.

"One of them is the appointment of PT Lembah Tidar Indonesia, which is a company that has a correlation with authority," said Feri at the KPK building in Jakarta.

In addition to Feri, Researcher of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), Annisa Azzahra, was also present.

Annisa added that the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners and the President Director of PT LTI are members of the Gerindra Party and currently hold active official positions. Annisa argued that the alleged conflict of interest is reinforced by the lack of a clear tender selection process.

Annisa also criticized the use of the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) to fund retreat participants, pointing out a significant discrepancy between the proposed and actual budget.

"There is a budget gap of around Rp6 billion, which was covered by the APBD—an unlawful fund diversion," she stated.

Meanwhile, Gerindra Central Executive Board Chair Prasetyo Hadi denied the claims about PT LTI's ownership.

"No, PT Lembah Tidar only manages the land under the elected president’s (Prabowo's) directive for preparation. Ownership remains with the military academy," said the Minister of State Secretariat at the Senayan Parliament Complex on Friday, February 14, 2025.

The controversy surrounding PT Lembah Tidar's ownership arose after activist Dandhy Laksono shared a copy of Minister of Home Affairs Circular Letter No. 200.5/628/SJ on his personal X account.

The letter stated that elected regional heads were required to deposit funds to PT Lembah Tidar to join the eight-day retreat in Magelang.

"The accommodation and consumption costs are deposited to PT Lembah Tidar Indonesia with Bank BRI account number 368501035699530 amounting to Rp 2,750,000 multiplied by 8 days (of implementation)," the letter read.

When traced from the official website of the Directorate General of Legal Administration (AHU) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the company is owned by Heru Irawanto.

Heru is a member of the Gerindra Party and currently serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Brebes District Regional Legislative Council (DPRD).

Prasetyo also denied the issue of elected regional heads depositing money to PT Lembah Tidar. He confirmed that all costs for the regional government head retreat were covered by the state budget.

"Everything uses the state budget, in the Ministry of Home Affairs, that's it (the budget)," he said.

Vedro Imanuel Girsang contributed to the writing of this article.

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