The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar) Regent Rita Widyasari a suspect in a bribery corruption case. Rita, who is the Chair of the East Kalimantan (Kaltim) Golkar Central Executive Board, is the daughter of the late Syaukani Hasan Rais, a convicted corruption offender. For information, Syaukani was a suspect in a corruption case involving land acquisition for Loa Kulu Airport.
Kukar is a regency in East Kalimantan with the largest Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP). It reached Rp 117.46 trillion, or 26.7 percent of East Kalimantan's total RGDP. Kutai Timur is second, with an RGDP of Rp 83.8 trillion, or 19.1 percent. Meanwhile, Samarinda, the capital city of East Kalimantan Province, has an RGDP of only Rp 39.18 trillion, or about 9 percent.
Numerous mining companies operating in Kukar underpin the economy of this regency, whose capital is Tenggarong. However, the fall in oil and other mining commodity prices has caused the regional government's economy, which covers an area of 23,602 square kilometers, to contract from 2014 to 2016.