Who is Topan Ginting Who Dragged Bobby Nasution's Name into the KPK's OTT in North Sumatra?

Topan Obaja Putra Ginting is the third head of department to become a corruption suspect within four months of the leadership of North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution. However, Topan's downfall is different from the other two.

The typhoon is referred to as the "class president" and the number one person for Bobby in the government. His downfall is a severe blow to Bobby and the political strength of Joko Widodo.

The sting operation by the Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) in the North Sumatra region on Thursday (26/6/2025) caused political turmoil in North Sumatra, and even nationally.

The reason is that one of the five suspects arrested is a close associate of Bobby, namely the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning Office of North Sumatra, Topan Ginting.

The status of Topan appears different compared to other heads of departments. Since Bobby took office as the Mayor of Medan, Topan has always been in Bobby's inner circle.

He worked on Bobby's important projects. He, for example, became the Head of the Medan Water Resources, Highways, and Construction Services.

Topan was then appointed as the Acting Secretary of the City of Medan during the 2024 North Sumatra Gubernatorial Election. Just four days after Bobby was inaugurated as the Governor of North Sumatra, Topan was immediately appointed as the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning Office of North Sumatra on February 24, 2025.

During his time accompanying Bobby, Topan has been hit by several corruption allegations. However, Topan has always escaped from a number of cases.

"We can see that during Bobby's tenure as the Mayor of Medan, his close associates have been untouchable even in cases that are clearly evident," said Elfanda Ananda, a budget and public policy observer who is also a former Chairman of the Indonesia Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) North Sumatra.

Previously, the Acting Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the KPK, Asep Guntur Rahayu, at the KPK Building in Jakarta, Saturday (28/6/2025), stated that the KPK arrested five suspects in the corruption case related to the construction and maintenance of roads within the North Sumatra Public Works and Spatial Planning Office and the National Road Implementation Work Unit (Satker PJN) Region I North Sumatra, with a total project value of IDR 231.8 billion.

The five suspects who were arrested are Topan (TOP), Rasuli Efendi Siregar (RES) as the Head of the UPTD Gunung Tua of the North Sumatra Public Works and Spatial Planning Office, Heliyanto (HEL) from the PJN Regional Working Unit I of North Sumatra, M Akhirun Efendi Siregar (KIR) as the President Director of PT DNG, and M Rayhan Dulasmi Pilang (RAY) as the Director of PT RN.

Corruption in the road construction project at PUPR North Sumatra began on April 22, 2025 when KIR and DNG as prospective contractors together with Topan and RES conducted an off-road survey.

Bobby, along with the suspects, then inspected the road on April 24. The KPK stated that prospective contractors should not be able to establish contact with government officials.

After the survey, Asep stated that Topan ordered RES to appoint KIR as a partner/provider without going through the mechanisms and regulations in the procurement of goods and services for the Sipiongot-Labusel border road construction project and the Hutaimbaru-Sipiongot road construction project.

The e-catalog process is also regulated to favor PT DGN in the Sipiongot-Labusel border road construction project. Meanwhile, for other projects, it is recommended that the package display be given a one-week interval to avoid being too conspicuous.

Topan is suspected of having received Rp 2 billion as an initial payment from a commission of 4-5 percent, amounting to approximately Rp 9 billion-Rp 11 billion from the total project value of Rp 231.8 billion.

Since being inaugurated as the Governor of North Sumatra, Bobby has replaced 12 high-ranking officials in the North Sumatra Provincial Government. Those who were replaced were close associates of the previous Governor of North Sumatra, Edy Rahmayadi, who was Bobby's rival in the fiercely contested North Sumatra gubernatorial election.

Three close associates of Bobby from the Medan City Government have been placed in strategic positions. In addition to Topan, there is Sulaiman Harahap, who was promoted from Head of the Medan City Inspectorate to Head of the North Sumatra Provincial Inspectorate.

Then, Sutan Tolang Lubis was promoted from Head of the Medan Regional Revenue Agency to Head of the North Sumatra Regional Personnel Agency.

Most recently, the President Director of Bank Sumut, Babay Parid Wazdi, was removed from his position through a resignation mechanism on Tuesday (3/6/2025). When asked by reporters, Bobby stated that Parid resigned from the state-owned enterprise of the North Sumatra Provincial Government without mentioning the reasons.

The political drama within the bureaucracy in North Sumatra has previously been intense. An old corruption case involving two heads of departments close to Edy Rahmayadi has been brought back to light.

First, the Head of the Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy Office of North Sumatra, Zumry Sulthony, has been designated as a suspect by the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office in a corruption case concerning the management of the cultural heritage site of Benteng Putri Hijau in Deli Serdang for the 2022 fiscal year. The state loss amounts to Rp 817 million.

Zumry was named a suspect on March 11, 2025, less than a month after Bobby was inaugurated.

The following month, it was the turn of the Head of the Communication and Information Office of North Sumatra, Ilyas Sitorus, to be implicated. The Batubara District Attorney's Office designated Ilyas as a suspect in the corruption case involving the procurement of digital library software for elementary and junior high schools during his tenure as the Head of the Education Office of Batubara Regency in the 2021 fiscal year.

The Head of the Department of Industry, Trade, Energy, and Mineral Resources of North Sumatra, Mulyadi Simatupang, was also dismissed from his position for allegedly offending Bobby in a WhatsApp group of North Sumatra provincial officials.

"He sent a conversation, but in the official government (WhatsApp) group. It doesn't fit, right," said Bobby last April. Mulyadi, Zumry, and Ilyas have long been known as loyalists of Edy Rahmayadi.

According to Elfanda, all this time, Bobby's close associates seemed untouchable. Topan was once involved in a case regarding the failed project of installing 1,700 streetlights on several roads in the city of Medan.

The project worth Rp 25.7 billion was then referred to as the "pocong light" project because many of the lights were non-functional and were built in inappropriate locations.

"The Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK) is suspected of being used to clean up the shroud lamp case by calling it a total loss. The Prosecutor's Office is suspected of being the institution tasked with collecting state losses from contractors. This shows Bobby's very strong power," said Elfanda.

According to Elfanda, this is likely related to Bobby's position as the son-in-law of Jokowi. However, the current national political landscape has changed under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.

Responding to his name being dragged into the Topan corruption case, Bobby said his relationship with Topan was the same as with other officials.

"Many were brought from the City Government. There is Mr. Sulaiman Harahap (Head of the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province) and there are several others we brought from Medan," said Bobby.

However, Bobby did not deny that he inspected the damaged road with Topan and other suspects.

"This is honest, yes, I just found out that the person concerned, the one who was affected, the one from the businessman was also there (reviewing the road with an off-road vehicle). In fact, his car was in front of mine," said Bobby.

Political observer from the State Islamic University of North Sumatra, Faisal Riza, stated that it is difficult to detach the event of the arrest of Bobby's close associate from a political perspective. This case serves as an indicator of the extent of Bobby's political power at present.

Furthermore, this case also represents a gamble on Jokowi's political strength. "The fact is that it is only now that law enforcement agencies such as the KPK have begun to target," said Faisal.

The corruption case also serves as an important correction regarding Bobby's performance and commitment to law enforcement and the eradication of corruption. The arrest of Bobby's close associate reveals the fact that "his commitment is weak," said Faisal.