National Nutrition Agency partners with prosecutors to enhance free meals oversight
Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency collaborates with the Attorney General's Office to strengthen supervision of the flagship Free Nutritious Meals program following corruption allegations that have named seven suspects, including the former BGN chief.
BGN, AGO team up to strengthen oversight of free meals program
Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has joined forces with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to bolster oversight of the country's Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program, which was launched in January 2025 as a flagship policy of President Prabowo Subianto and now serves 62.45 million beneficiaries nationwide.
Ketut Sumedana, BGN's newly appointed deputy for monitoring and oversight, announced Wednesday that findings from an ongoing corruption investigation will inform improvements to the agency's supervisory mechanisms. Speaking at the AGO's office in Jakarta, Ketut emphasized the collaborative approach to addressing governance challenges in the program.
We will use whatever investigators find to improve BGN and make it better going forward
said Ketut, who brings more than 28 years of experience from the AGO and holds a doctorate in law.
The partnership comes amid a major corruption probe that has ensnared seven suspects, including former BGN chief Dadan Hindayana, who faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence if convicted. The AGO has also named former BGN deputy chiefs Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sonjaya, along with private-sector figures Asep Yusuf Soemantri, Glory Harimas Sihombing, PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal Commissioner Andri Mulyono, and LMI, secretary to BGN's deputy for promotion and cooperation.
Program scale and challenges
The MBG program, established through Presidential Regulation No. 83 of 2024 by then-President Joko Widodo, aims to reach 82.9 million beneficiaries, including schoolchildren, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. As of May 2026, the program had established 29,225 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) or kitchens nationwide, distributing more than 8.3 billion meal portions since its launch.
The initiative forms a cornerstone of Indonesia's long-term Indonesia Emas 2045 (Golden Indonesia 2045) vision, targeting chronic malnutrition and stunting that affect approximately one-fifth of children under five in the country.
However, implementation has faced serious obstacles. Since the program began, more than 11,000 students and school staff have suffered food poisoning, according to monitoring organizations. In September 2025, the Ombudsman identified four major issues:
- disparities in kitchen development
- recurring food poisoning incidents
- delays in payments for field personnel
- foundations with political affiliations managing program kitchens
Corruption allegations and budget adjustments
AGO investigators allege that former BGN officials used affiliated foundations to manage program kitchens and engaged in procurement violations. The alleged irregularities include the purchase of 21,801 electric motor units valued at approximately Rp1 trillion and 32,000 pairs of shoes with suspected price mark-ups.
The government initially allocated Rp335 trillion (approximately US$18.4 billion) for the MBG program in 2026, but later reduced the budget to Rp268 trillion (approximately US$14.7 billion) following efficiency directives from President Prabowo.
Ketut was introduced Tuesday as one of five new senior officials appointed to improve MBG governance. His extensive background at the AGO positions him to address field problems, including suspected food poisoning and other irregularities that have emerged during the program's rollout.
The collaboration between BGN and AGO represents an effort to restore public confidence in the program while ensuring that nutritional services reach Indonesia's most vulnerable populations effectively and transparently.