Dudung's Full Statement: SPPG Bailout Funds Not Guaranteed to Be Reimbursed

Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Dudung Abdurachman has stated that the government cannot yet guarantee the reimbursement of bailout funds already spent by a number of investors for the construction of Nutritional Service Fulfilment Units (SPPG), or kitchens for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. “Oh, it is not certain (the funds will be reimbursed), I am not saying the money will be replaced. Because this will be reorganised, and certainly there will be concrete steps from BGN,” Dudung said during a press conference at the KSP office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (10/6). The statement was made by Dudung in response to complaints from several investors who claimed to have spent bailout funds to build SPPG sites based on decrees issued by former BGN officials, namely ex-BGN Head Dadan Hindayana and ex-BGN Deputy Head Sony Sonjaya. Sony and Dadan have now been named as suspects in the alleged corruption of the MBG programme. According to Dudung, these issues have largely occurred in SPPG projects in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. He said several sites were previously designated through decrees which were then used by investors as a basis for obtaining financing from banks. Dudung explained that the investors believed the project would proceed because the SPPG locations had been determined. On that basis, they applied for bank loans and began building the MBG kitchen facilities. “So, they borrowed money from the bank and then started building, because the sites had already been determined by the previous officials. They were confident that it would be realised,” he said. However, the government is currently reorganising the MBG programme, including evaluating the SPPG sites that had been previously established. Therefore, the project realisation and the follow-up on funds already spent by investors will still depend on the results of the reorganisation and budget availability. Dudung said that BGN Head Nanik S Deyang has conveyed the evaluation plan. He hopes that some of the sites that have already been built can still be realised in the future. “Now with this problem, that is why Mrs Nanik earlier said it would be reorganised. Yes, hopefully in the future there will be realisation, and in fact, it depends on the budget,” he said. He also acknowledged that the issue of operational fund disbursement is not limited to one region. According to him, quite a number of SPPGs are currently facing similar obstacles and will be part of the reorganisation process being conducted by BGN. “There are many, not just a few SPPGs anymore. They will be reorganised later,” said Dudung. Dudung’s statement emerged amid the demands of Sukabumi-based businessman H Mujazin, who is demanding a refund of approximately Rp218.25 billion, which was said to have been deposited as a bailout for the MBG kitchen project. Through his legal counsel, Mujazin claims the funds were handed over based on a memorandum of understanding signed with former BGN Deputy Head Lodewyk Pusung in September 2025. In the agreement, the Kharisma Cendekia Indonesia (KCI) Foundation was said to obtain the management rights for 97 SPPG sites after depositing the bailout funds. However, according to Mujazin’s side, the promised management of dozens of kitchens was never realised even though the funds were deposited in several stages. The case came to light amidst the investigation into alleged corruption in the governance of the MBG programme, which implicates former BGN Head Dadan Hindayana and two former BGN Deputy Heads, Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sanjaya. All three have been named as suspects by the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung).