Ex-BGN Deputy Chief Sony Sonjaya Seeks Justice Collaborator Status to Expose MBG Corruption

Former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Sony Sonjaya has stated he is ready to come clean to law enforcement regarding alleged corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme at the agency for the 2025-2026 period. The retired detective policeman with the final rank of two-star general has expressed his intention to become a Justice Collaborator (JC) in the case. Sony has appointed Krisna Murti as his lawyer. Krisna stated that Sony’s decision to become a JC was taken to shed full light on the case. He said this step simultaneously refutes allegations that Sony was the mastermind behind the buying and selling of SPPG points for the MBG programme. ‘Mr Sony has stated his readiness to become a Justice Collaborator. This determination has already been recorded in the official examination report (BAP) at the Attorney General’s Office,’ Krisna told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday (4/6). Krisna mentioned that Sony is ready to disclose big names suspected of involvement in the case. However, Krisna has not yet revealed the identities of those figures. ‘According to my client, it clearly involves figures from executive and legislative circles. My client is ready to reveal everything,’ he said. He further conveyed that the formal application letter for JC status would soon be officially sent to the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung). He hopes this step can thoroughly uncover the case. ‘In due course, the names of the figures involved will be revealed in court. This is an act of good faith from Mr Sony to make the case transparent,’ he stated. Previously, the Attorney General’s Office named former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana along with former Deputy Heads of BGN Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung as suspects in the corruption case concerning the MBG programme’s governance. In this case, the Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, explained that the MBG programme was supposed to be managed by foundations affiliated with recipient schools. However, in practice, many SPPGs were appointed because they had affiliations with senior BGN officials. Syarief said these foundations essentially did not even meet the requirements to become SPPG partners. ‘These foundations received billions of rupiah in incentives daily, and these foundations are affiliated with, among others, those owned by Mr DH, Mr SS, and Mr LP,’ he said. Dadan, Sony, and Lodewyk were named suspects by the Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday (4/6), a day after they were dismissed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday (3/6). A day after the dismissal, on Wednesday morning, the AGO team moved to search the BGN office in Central Jakarta and several other locations. Investigators also examined Dadan, Sony, and Lodewyk at the AGO headquarters. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Dadan and the others were named suspects and detained for investigation purposes at the Salemba Detention Centre by the AGO. Responding to the dismissal and naming of Dadan and the others as suspects, Prabowo admitted he was saddened. As Dadan’s replacement, Prabowo appointed Nanik S Deyang, who was previously Deputy Head of BGN, as the Head of BGN. Through an Instagram post, Sony Sonjaya wrote a handwritten message of congratulations for Nanik. ‘Actually, today, at this moment, I am actually sad. I cannot hide that I am in a state of sadness. Because I am forced to replace people whom I actually care about, people I trust, people I have given a very heavy task to for the country,’ Prabowo said while giving directives at the MBG Consolidation Meeting at the Sentul International Convention Centre (SICC), Bogor, West Java, last Wednesday.