AGO Urged to Fully Investigate Parties Involved in Free Nutritious Meal Corruption

The National Coordinator of Pemuda Timur is urging the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the involvement of alleged budget mafia members seeking to reap unilateral profits from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. “This Free Nutritious Meal programme uses an enormous amount of state funds and concerns public interest. Strict supervision is absolutely necessary so that its implementation governance is truly on target and free from corrupt practices,” said Zainal Irfandi, National Executive of Kornas Pemuda Timur, in a statement quoted on Thursday (11/6). Zainal highlighted former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Sony Sonjaya, who has expressed his willingness to act as a justice collaborator (JC) with law enforcement. He considers this step crucial for unravelling the network nodes that hinder the distribution and budget governance of the MBG. The AGO is being urged to immediately delve into reports concerning 26 names allegedly implicated in the internal turmoil at BGN. “We support the Attorney General’s Office in following up on all information and testimony provided by Sony Sonjaya regarding the 26 names allegedly involved at BGN. Law enforcement officials need to investigate this professionally, independently, and transparently so that the case is exposed in a clear light,” Zainal continued. Whilst urging a comprehensive examination of financial flows, the budgeting process, and the vendor appointment mechanisms for MBG, Zainal reminded all parties to continue respecting legal boundaries and uphold the principle of presumption of innocence. He stated that the list of 26 names obtained by the AGO from Sony Sonjaya’s testimony currently holds the status of preliminary information in the public domain, meaning their legal rights must be protected until a final and binding court verdict (in kracht) is reached. He expressed hope that there would be no acts of unilateral judgement outside the legal corridor. Furthermore, he stressed that there must be no special treatment for anyone indicated to be involved, whether they are from the executive, legislative clusters or external capital owners. “If there are individuals who abuse their authority, they must be processed without discrimination. The state must not lose to budget mafias or any networks of interest,” said Zainal.