This is as awful as it gets: A deputy regent sues his regent for Rp25.5 billion

Thekabarnews.com—When a friend texted me the message, I almost spewed out my coffee without sugar (Koptagul). This behavior was not due to the heat but rather to the absurdity of the situation. The deputy regent in Jember has sued the regent for Rp25.5 billion. Yes, it is a billion—not a million. The zeros are lengthy, and the egos seem much longer.

Welcome to Jember, a region that used to smell like tobacco and make factories and fortunes. Today, it offers something completely different: a political spectacle so rare that even constitutional textbooks seem to need a break from their usual content.

The Jember deputy regent, Djoko Susanto, has legally sued Jember Regent Muhammad Fawait for a lot of money. What makes this so unusual is that they were political allies, campaigned for position together in the 2024 regional election, smiled from the same billboards, chanted the same slogans, and took the same oath of position.

They had the support of a huge coalition of 15 political parties, including Gerindra, PKB, Golkar, NasDem, PKS, and almost every other political party. It was not a coalition; it was a political feast—when everyone came, everyone had something to eat, and everyone took photographs.

People in Jember voted for them as an “ideal match.” They compared them to fermented cassava: one root, two distinct processes, and a single sweet product. That is what people told them. However, once the power fermentation began, the sweetness disappeared—the political process spoiled before it fully matured.

The drama developed fast as the 2025–2030 term began. The deputy regent says others sidelined him, leaving him present in name but absent in duty. It is like office Wi-Fi: it is there, but the signal is weak on purpose. He didn’t make any strategic decisions. His power shrank, and coordination resembled unread letters stuck at a single check mark.

After that, the lawsuit arrived—not a symbolic one. The lawsuit demanded Rp24.5 billion in expenses to cover campaign costs, logistics, transportation, lodging, legal fees, and the ongoing costs of maintaining one’s dignity. Then it adds Rp1 billion in expenses for harm to reputation and personal dignity, totaling Rp25.5 billion. It seems like emotional inflation has hit Jember severely.

Djoko did not stop there; he also sued a man named Agus Mashudi for Rp1.5 billion. It stemmed from an earlier disagreement over how the regent and the deputy should share power. The dispute is no longer a fight between two people; it is a civil-law battle royale. No one threw sandals; instead, they exchanged legal clauses.

It could be the first place in Indonesia where a sitting deputy regent sues his regent. They took the same oath, won election together, and may even have shared a campaign car. Other places quietly resolve political disagreements behind closed doors. In Jember, they took the dispute to the district court, where they had to present detailed claims that could unsettle public treasurers.

The irony is profound that a grand coalition offered voters stability. What they got was a cage for their egos. There are too many parties, too many promises, and ambiguous positions in the coalition. The deputy regent demands recognition, while the regent clings to power. People just want roads that are not full of holes.

Jember has officially moved up a level—from a town of tobacco to a city of lawsuits, from pride in farming to a place where the rich fight, and from a campaign romance to a political soap opera called “One Ticket, Two Egos, Twenty-Five and a Half Billion.”

Let’s drink one more Koptagul. If it pours, it’s not the heat; it’s that politics has become so absurd that it’s hard to take seriously.

Writer: Rosadi Jamani, Chairman of Satupena West Kalimantan.