Deputy Chair of House Commission IX Demands Sanctions Against SPPG for Raw Catfish in Pamekasan
Deputy Chair of House Commission IX, Yahya Zaini, has criticised the free nutritious meal programme (MBG) at State Senior High School 2 Pamekasan, which went viral on social media after it was found to contain raw catfish. Yahya Zaini has called on the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.
“Regarding the case in Pamekasan, Madura, I request the BGN to conduct a thorough evaluation to ensure that the MBG distributed to recipients contains adequate nutritional content and is safe for consumption,” Yahya Zaini told reporters on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
Yahya has demanded that the BGN impose strict sanctions, including temporary suspension of the relevant kitchen programme operator. He expressed hope that such incidents will not recur and must be addressed going forward.
“I request the BGN to impose strict sanctions in the form of temporary closure of the kitchen. The raw catfish case demonstrates weak oversight by the BGN in implementing the MBG during Ramadan. I request that such cases do not happen again,” said Yahya Zaini.
He reminded that the standard for MBG menus during Ramadan should consist of dried food, not raw items. The Golkar legislator hopes there will be firm action against the Head of the Indonesian Development Catalyst programme (SPPI) at the BGN.
“The standard is dried food, not raw food. The BGN must also be firm in issuing a warning to the head of SPPI as the BGN’s representative responsible for management, nutritional quality and food safety,” said Yahya Zaini.
“I have not heard of any head of SPPI being sanctioned by the BGN. The SPPI head is the direct extension of the BGN responsible for managing and directly overseeing kitchen operations,” he added.
Previously, a video showing a school’s rejection of the MBG package at State Senior High School 2 Pamekasan went viral on social media. In the video, the school rejected the food distribution as it was deemed unfit for distribution to students.
According to detikJatim on Tuesday (10 March), the rejection took place on Monday (9 March). The rejected menu was intended for three days of MBG allocation—Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The food package sent from the kitchen operator contained two pieces of tempeh, two pieces of tofu and one live, raw catfish. School representatives explained that the raw condition of the catfish, still alive, risked rapid spoilage.
“The live catfish is estimated to spoil around noon and could contaminate other food items. So we apologise to the kitchen, but the school is taking this position for the children’s safety,” said the school representative in the video.
In the recording, the catfish provided is clearly in raw condition. The catfish’s whiskers remain intact. This was the primary reason the school deemed the meal unfit for distribution to students.
The MBG originated from the kitchen operated by the As-Salman Buddagan Foundation. The foundation subsequently provided an explanation regarding the menu rejection by State Senior High School 2 Pamekasan. Nutrition expert Fikri Muttawakil from the As-Salman Buddagan Foundation acknowledged the school’s rejection of the menu. The fish dish in question was marinated catfish served to students.
“The catfish in question is marinated catfish,” clarified Fikri in his video statement.