Appointed as BGN Head, Sudaryono Supports Legal Process for Corruption in Free Nutritious Meal Programme

JAKARTA – Sudaryono was officially installed as Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) on Wednesday (22/7/2026) afternoon. The former Deputy Minister of Agriculture replaced Nanik S Deyang, who resigned as head of the agency running the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme that morning on health grounds.

Sudaryono acknowledged that there remain many governance problems within the agency he now leads. He also refused to turn a blind eye to the irregularities that have taken place at BGN. The corruption case involving a number of former BGN leaders is still proceeding at the Attorney General’s Office.

In his address to BGN staff, he asked all parties not to shirk the legal responsibilities they must face. “So I want to make clear, among us there may well be those who will be questioned, suspected, some who have already been designated suspects, some who will be witnesses, and so on. What I want is that legal matters are left to the law enforcers,” he said at the BGN building on Wednesday (22/7/2026).

He stated that his side would fully hand over the handling of the case at BGN to law enforcement officials. Nevertheless, he affirmed his support for the prosecution of the case.

“In essence, as the new head of the agency, whatever is needed for law enforcement, we will provide our support,” said Sudaryono.

That said, he reminded his staff not to forget to fix the governance of the MBG programme. The programme is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programmes and must continue to run.

“So I want to invite the whole team not to wallow in pessimism and sadness. We must remain optimistic, we can resolve these problems, and we are confident that this programme is good and that its governance can be improved,” said the Gerindra Party politician.

Sudaryono stressed that his side would make the implementation of the MBG programme transparent. In addition, his side will create a system so that the programme runs optimally.

“It must no longer depend on individuals; it must work by system, trust in the system. Whereas previously everything might have followed this person’s instructions or that person’s instructions, that will no longer be the case. We will follow the implementation guidelines, the rules, and the system we build — that is the direction we are heading,” he said.