New head of Indonesia\u2019s free meals programme quits after 45 days\nciting health reasons, as budget cuts loom<\/p>\n
Nanik Sudaryati Deyang on Wednesday (Jul 22) said that she has a\nheart condition and that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has\napproved her resignation as head of the National Nutrition Agency.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: The newly appointed head of Indonesia\u2019s National Nutrition\nAgency (BGN), which runs President Prabowo Subianto\u2019s flagship free\nmeals programme, has resigned after 45 days in the role, with the\ninitiative reportedly set to see further budget cuts.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Jul 22), Nanik Sudaryati Deyang said\nshe was stepping down for health reasons, revealing that she has a heart\ncondition and would be travelling overseas the same day to seek a second\nmedical opinion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a heavy heart, I bid farewell to the president to undergo\ntreatment abroad for my heart. I plan to depart today, on Wednesday,\u201d\nshe said in her post.<\/p>\n
Nanik said that her decision to seek medical treatment abroad was\nbased on recommendations from colleagues and not due to a lack of trust\nin Indonesian doctors.<\/p>\n
She added that Prabowo has approved her resignation and expressed\nconcern for her condition, but asked her to continue overseeing the\nNational Nutrition Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me to continue overseeing BGN. It is likely that the\npresident will establish a supervisory board, and I have been asked to\nserve as its chairman,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s just a matter of giving advice and keeping an eye on things,\nI can still do that, as long as it doesn\u2019t involve handling money \u2026. I\u2019m\ntraumatised by that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Nanik assumed leadership of the agency last month following a\nhigh-profile corruption crackdown that saw its former head Dadan\nHindayana sacked and arrested over allegations of fund misappropriation\nwithin the programme, along with two other deputies.<\/p>\n
Nanik was the only deputy retained by Prabowo. She was inaugurated as\nthe new agency head on Jun 8.<\/p>\n
During her brief tenure, Nanik led a major overhaul of the programme\ninfrastructure, evaluating nearly 28,000 community kitchens nationwide,\nestablishing quality tiers for 3,000 facilities and halting expansion in\noversaturated regions, state news agency Antara reported.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Wednesday, presidential special assistant Dirgayuza\nSetiawan said that Nanik\u2019s reform initiatives had saved hundreds of\nbillions of rupiah as she took action against 414 problematic kitchens,\nformed 11 internal reform teams and refocused the national food\ninitiative towards vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n
Her resignation comes as the flagship programme faces another round\nof budget cuts.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, it was reported that Indonesia had further reduced the\nprogramme\u2019s budget to 229 trillion rupiah (US$12.81 billion) from 268\ntrillion rupiah, with senior officials of the agency saying that further\ncuts are possible.<\/p>\n
The programme was originally allocated 335 trillion rupiah in 2026\nwith a target of reaching 83 million recipients by the end of the year\nbut the budget has been gradually reduced in an effort to boost\nefficiency.<\/p>\n
In June, Reuters reported that BGN was targeting a budget cut of more\nthan US$2 billion, reducing the number of beneficiaries and kitchen\noperators.<\/p>\n
In a press conference on Tuesday, the agency\u2019s secretary Lili\nKhamiliyah said that Prabowo has given the agency a month to come up\nwith the final budget figure following an internal review, adding that\nthe 229 trillion rupiah cited was a provisional figure, with further\nroom for efficiency measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be \u2026 reduction in the number of beneficiaries. The\npresident no longer targets a certain number, but he wants improvement\nin quality so that there is no more food poisoning,\u201d Agustina Arumsari,\ndeputy head of BGN, said at the same press conference.<\/p>\n
The ambitious free meals programme was a key part of Prabowo\u2019s\ncampaign to win the presidency in 2024 to provide free meals daily to 83\nmillion children and pregnant women across the sprawling\narchipelago.<\/p>\n
It has come under scrutiny since its launch in January 2025.<\/p>\n
Examples include reported links to cases of food poisoning that had\naffected at least 33,000 children as of April, according to Network for\nEducation Watch, a non-governmental organisation.<\/p>\n
In her statement on Wednesday, Nanik said that she will continue\nsupporting Prabowo in the effort to improve people\u2019s lives through the\nfree nutritious meals programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will continue to fight for and support the president, who is\ncurrently working tirelessly to improve the lives of the Indonesian\npeople,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving worked alongside him for 14 years, I know for certain that\nthe Free Nutritious Meals programme was never intended for political\npurposes, contrary to what some people have alleged,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is genuinely designed as a nutritional intervention for children\nso they can grow into a \u2018golden generation\u2019 while also safeguarding\ntheir health.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/head-of-indonesias-free-meals-programme-resigns-after-45-days-amid-budget-cuts-1784703020", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }