BGN Chief Defends TNI-Polri Role in Free Nutritious Meals Programme, Citing Budget Constraints
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sudaryono, has spoken out regarding the continued involvement of the TNI and Polri in supporting the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Programme. According to him, the involvement of the apparatus is not an issue, as long as the goal is to ensure the government programme runs effectively and is on target.
Sudaryono said he had faced a similar experience when he was still serving as Deputy Minister of Agriculture. At that time, the TNI and Polri were involved to help distribute tens of thousands of water pumps to farmers due to limited distribution budgets.
‘In my opinion, the point is… this is the same as in agriculture, which I have faced so far, involving everything. The essence is the principle of purpose. ’Oh, why use the army, use the police?’ Look, distributing these pumps during the dry season, there are 70,000 pumps. If we distribute them… due to the 2024 budget relocation in particular, that was our experience back then. We distributed them through the TNI and Polri. Why? Because there was no budget. So there was no money for the distribution costs,’ Sudaryono told reporters at the BGN Head Office in Jakarta on Wednesday (22/7/2026).
He even admitted to once receiving a question from students regarding the involvement of the TNI and Polri. However, when offered an alternative to replace that role voluntarily, the proposal also did not receive a positive response.
‘Yesterday, a student asked me, ’Alright then, if that’s the case, the army and police don’t need to help, I’ll mobilise the students without pay, would you agree?’ They didn’t want to,’ he said.
Because of this, Sudaryono believes the most important thing is not who is involved, but how all parties can work together so that the programme’s objectives are achieved.
‘So the point is this. I don’t want to comment further, but the essence is that all parties, how can this thing be implemented well, with clear targets. The target is that children are safe and adequately nourished. So they are safe and have adequate nutrition. And then it has an impact on the grassroots economy,’ he explained.
He said the implementation of the MBG must also empower small business actors, farmers, and livestock breeders. However, all food ingredients used must meet safety standards so that cases of poisoning do not recur.
‘By empowering MSMEs, empowering farmers, breeders and others, but on one condition, all the ingredients must also be proper,’ said Sudaryono.
‘Meaning, the safety standards must also be correct, because we learn from poisoning incidents and so on, that is because apart from the processing method, there is also the raw material, which may not be standardised, or maybe the quality of the raw material is not good,’ he continued.
Besides touching on the involvement of various parties in running the MBG programme, Sudaryono also responded to the plan to form a Supervisory Board at the BGN. He admitted that he has not yet received further information on the matter.
‘I have not received further information regarding the Supervisory Board. The point is we just work properly,’ he stressed.
Nevertheless, he considers the existence of a Supervisory Board to be a positive step to strengthen oversight. He even opened up space for the public and national media to participate in monitoring the programme.
‘So having a Supervisory Board is certainly better. There is a Supervisory Board plus private supervisors, right? All of you can also be supervisors. If there are things that are not right, you can report them. So I am open to all of this,’ he concluded.