Elza Syarief Resigns as Sony Sonjaya's Lawyer in MBG Corruption Case

Elza Syarief has resigned as the lawyer for former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sony Sonjaya, who is now a suspect in an alleged corruption case concerning the management of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. The decision was made because Elza felt deceived by Sony. “Because Mr Sony was not honest and before taking an oath he was clean, but information from several people, especially Asep, he received money from Asep regularly,” Elza said when confirmed via written message on Tuesday (16/6). The Asep in question is Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS), a trusted associate of Sony who is also being processed by the Attorney General’s Office in a similar case.

Elza believes Sony’s actions make it difficult for him to obtain the status of a cooperating witness, or Justice Collaborator (JC). She noted that under Government Regulation Number 24 of 2025, a JC application can be submitted by a suspect, defendant, or their legal representative to the investigators or prosecutors handling the case. Substantively, a JC must be willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation, prosecution, or trial process by providing important information or evidence to uncover a larger crime or reveal the roles of other perpetrators. A JC is entitled to rewards, such as a reduced sentence. “I feel that some things are being revealed, while others are being protected,” said Elza, who admitted to providing legal assistance to Sony on a pro bono basis. She added that her resignation took effect from 15 June 2026. “Since 15 June, after I was hindered from meeting the client and experienced discomfort since 12 June 2026,” she stated.

Previously, the Attorney General’s Office had named five suspects in the alleged corruption case involving the MBG programme for the 2025-2026 period. They are former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana; former Deputy Heads of BGN Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung; Sony’s associate Asep Yusuf Somantri; and Commissioner of PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (YAT), Andri Mulyono. The Attorney General’s Office explained that the MBG programme was supposed to be managed by the Satuan Pelayanan dan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) foundation affiliated with recipient schools. However, in practice, many SPPGs were appointed because of their affiliations with BGN officials. Additionally, many foundations did not actually meet the requirements to become SPPG partners. There were also allegations of price mark-ups in procurement, causing losses that did not support the operational implementation of MBG. These included 21,801 units of electric motors valued at Rp1.03 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, 31,994 tablets, and 5,400 units of 75-inch televisions.