A civil society coalition under the banner of MBG Watch staged a\nsymbolic protest by sealing the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) building\nin Central Jakarta on Wednesday, 10 June 2026. MBG Watch member Agus\nSarwono urged President Prabowo Subianto to halt the MBG programme,\narguing that its current governance is designed for rent-seeking. \u201cThe\nproof is that former BGN leaders were arrested by the Attorney General\u2019s\nOffice,\u201d he stated at the BGN building.<\/p>\n
The researcher from Transparency International Indonesia said MBG\nWatch has received numerous complaints regarding the programme since\nOctober 2025, ranging from food quality issues to poisoning cases. The\ncoalition\u2019s analysis suggests these problems arose because the programme\nwas designed to fail from the outset. For instance, the MBG programme\noperated without any regulation for ten months following its launch on\n31 October 2025. \u201cWe also highlight the enormous risk of corruption,\u201d he\nadded, noting that loopholes for conflicts of interest remain.<\/p>\n
The coalition is demanding the government conduct a total evaluation\nby auditing the programme, focusing on governance improvements and\npreventing conflicts of interest. He also urged the government to shift\nthe beneficiary targets more accurately, directing the MBG programme\ntowards communities in poverty-stricken and stunting-prone areas. The\ncoalition has given BGN 30 days to fix its governance, warning that\nfailure to do so will result in further demonstrations with\nsignificantly larger crowds.<\/p>\n
Celios Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira stated that his\ninstitution had warned of corruption loopholes before the programme was\nimplemented, but the government did not listen. In 2024, Celios mapped\nout four potential corruption risks in the MBG programme, including the\nprocurement and distribution of food, falsification of beneficiary data,\nmismanagement of funds, and irregularities in oversight and evaluation\nprocesses.<\/p>\n
President Prabowo Subianto recently inaugurated Nanik Sudaryati\nDeyang as the new Head of BGN on 8 June 2026, replacing Dadan Hindayana\nwho was removed from office. The inauguration followed the Attorney\nGeneral\u2019s Office naming former BGN leaders Dadan Hindayana, Sony\nSonjaya, and Lodewyk Pusung as suspects in a corruption case involving\nthe programme covering the 2025\u20132026 period.<\/p>\n
Following her inauguration, Nanik stated her intention to be prudent\nwith the free nutritious meal budget, noting that financial discipline\nwould be supported by Deputy Head Agustina Arumsari, a former official\nat the Development Finance Comptroller. She pledged not to make any\ndecisions regarding expenditure without Arumsari\u2019s approval and said the\nagency would focus on budget efficiency without reducing the target\nnumber of beneficiaries.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mbg-watch-seals-bgn-building-demands-mbg-programme-be-halted-1781082748", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }