Dudung Reveals He Contacted Dadan Regarding Free Nutritious Meals and Kitchens in Pesantren
The Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Dudung Abdurachman, has refuted reports claiming that he possesses Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) or kitchens for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme through the former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana.
Dudung stated that the information surfaced after he helped introduce pesantren administrators to Dadan several months ago. According to him, the meeting was organised because certain pesantren were interested in becoming beneficiaries and hosting locations for the MBOG programme.
“There is news saying Mr Dudung has kitchen points through Mr Dadan. I am informing you that several months ago, perhaps six months ago, I was in close contact with pesantren administrators,” Dudung said during a press conference at the KSP in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
He explained that several pesantren administrators had requested assistance to be introduced to Dadan. At that time, Dudung noted, the pesantren in question had the necessary administrative readiness to participate in the MBG programme.
Dudung noted that these pesantren have large student populations, making them potential sites for the MBG kitchen programme implementation.
“The pesantren administrators told me that there is a programme where pesantren can be targets for benefits because they have 4,000 to 5,000 students, so they could be designated as kitchen points,” he said.
Dudung stated that he subsequently passed this information to Dadan. However, after the introduction was made, he claimed he was no longer involved in any further discussions.
He even instructed the pesantren representatives to coordinate directly with his staff to follow up on communications with the National Nutrition Agency.
“I said, ‘Mr Dadan, there are pesantren that are administratively ready.’ However, there has been no realisation. Ultimately, I told Dadan, ‘Please contact Mr Arif Nurrachman, my staff.’”
A few weeks ago, Dudung admitted he had checked on the progress of the proposal with Dadan. Based on the information he received, the application process was still incomplete, and the construction of the kitchens had not yet begun.
“As it turns out, until now, the process is not yet finished. The kitchens have not even been built,” he said.
Because he was the party who introduced the pesantren administrators to Dadan, Dudung suspects the perception arose that the MBG kitchens belonged to him. He emphasised that he does not own any MBG kitchens as being widely discussed.
“It is only because I asked Mr Dadan for help that it eventually sounded as if Mr Dudung owns the kitchens. If Mr Dudung does have kitchens, please check, and I will give you a gift. I do not have any kitchens at all,” Dudung concluded.