Feasting on the Nutritious Meals Program

Dozens of government officials are suspected of asking to set up kitchens under the free nutritious meals program. It was intentionally designed to facilitate corruption.

WITH its governance design, which was flawed from the outset, the government’s free nutritious meals (MBG) program deserves to be called one of the most massive and systemic instances of corruption in Indonesian history. On the pretext of improving child nutrition, this embodiment of President Prabowo Subianto's campaign promise has become a revenue stream for government officials, elites, and cronies. 

An admission by Sony Sonjaya, a suspect in the MBG corruption case, exposed this corruption. This former Deputy Chief of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) revealed that dozens of officials had asked to set up some of the kitchens, known as nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPGs). Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, the current chief of BGN, is one said to be affiliated with a foundation that runs some of the SPPG. 

In addition to BGN officials, there are cabinet ministers, heads of institutions, members of the House of Representatives (DPR), law enforcement officials, and close relatives of officials who are involved in the establishment of food program kitchens. The police, the institution that is supposed to oversee the project, is instead involved in managing 1,179 SPPG units. The involvement of state and non-state actors connected to the ruling elite's patronage network reflects systemic corruption in this flagship project of President Prabowo. With a project budget of Rp268 trillion targeting 82.9 million beneficiaries, preferential treatment can be seen in the appointment of program partners, the procurement of food supplies, and the distribution of poor-quality food.

Regulatory weaknesses and minimal oversight are not merely technical negligence, but deliberately created loopholes for corruption. When budget markups and direct appointments rife with conflicts of interest become a pattern, losses no longer stop at a single contract but accumulate throughout the entire implementation network. 

MBG creates incentives for project implementers to "play along," where corruption appears commonplace. When the majority of players believe that corruption has become a social norm and "everyone will do it," indiscretions are no longer a risky option but a strategy for profit. 

Corruption in the nutritious meals program is not limited to inflating budgets. It includes creating fictitious projects. In Cilacap, Central Java, for example, around 100 SPPG units are located in cemeteries and forested areas. This finding strengthens the suspicion of trading kitchen locations and the registration of fictitious kitchens.

The question is, was Prabowo aware of all this? It is hard to imagine a project with a budget of hundreds of trillions of rupiah, involving thousands of foundations, and involving the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police operating under the President's radar. The argument that the President is unaware of the details of the activities—because the information coming to him was filtered by his close associates—is an irresponsible attempt to wash his hands in this matter.

In addition to providing an opportunity for cronies and close associates to gain quick profits, the MBG program can easily be transformed into a logistics machine to consolidate support for the 2029 General Election—something that clearly benefits Prabowo. 

Many groups—media, activists, and academics, to name a few—have warned the President early on about the dangers of the MBG program having poor governance. Reflecting on the experience of many countries, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with a free meals program. If managed properly, such a program can improve children's nutrition and create a domino effect on the people's economy.

However, the President has responded defensively to these opinions, unwilling to take any criticism. Reports of procedural violations were met with suspicions that foreign powers were behind the criticism. Reviews of conflicts of interest among the program implementers were met with cynicism, suggesting that someone wants to bring down the President.

The worst practice of the MBG program is the inability to realize that free meals should not eliminate other programs needed by the public. Budgets for road maintenance and other infrastructure, for example, are currently declining due to the MBG program drawing funds away. Education funds being siphoned off for this project have led to widespread layoffs of honorary teachers and government employees with work contracts (PPPK). Funds that should have been used to improve the quality of education and teacher welfare have instead become a breeding ground for corruption in the nutritious meals program. A coalition of teachers and civil society has gone to the Constitutional Court to challenge the use of education funds for the MBG program.

The MBG program must be stopped. This program was designed to be corrupt from the very beginning—from its very conceptualization.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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