Finance Minister Assures No Further Electric Motorcycle Purchases for Free Nutritious Meals Programme

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has assured that the government will not continue purchasing electric motorcycles for the Free Nutritious Meals Programme in 2026. The decision was made after an investigation into the procurement plans that had previously drawn public attention. “I asked last night if there are any this year, and there aren’t. So, there will be no more purchases this year,” Purbaya said at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday (9/4/2026). “(The budget) last year had some miscommunication from my subordinates to me, as far as I remember, I was told it had been rejected. But apparently, some had already been approved,” he explained. He noted that the budget proposal was likely submitted before he took office as Finance Minister. “It might have been submitted before I became minister, so I didn’t know. But we’ll review it going forward, but clearly, there will be no more in the future,” he stated. The controversy over the electric motorcycle procurement emerged after a video circulated on social media. The video showed several vehicles with the National Nutrition Agency logo. A post by TikTok account @NOVIR007 on Monday (6/4/2026) mentioned the presence of tens of thousands of electric motorcycles for one region alone. “I’m spilling this: all these motorcycles, 70,000 for West Java province only. Now, are they for all employees or just the head of the SPPG kitchen? I’m not sure, I don’t want to spread hoax news, but clearly, for West Java province only, there are 70,000 units,” the account said. Dadan then confirmed that the electric motorcycles are operational facilities for the National Nutrition Agency. The vehicles are used to support the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals Programme, particularly for SPPG Heads in various regions.