Mahfud MD on Dadan Hindayana's Arrest by Attorney General's Office: Good, He Was Indeed Incompetent
The former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Prof. Mahfud MD, believes the arrest of the former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, by the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) is appropriate. Mahfud also stated that Dadan lacked bureaucratic experience and acted arbitrarily.
“Yes, it is good (that Dadan was arrested by the Attorney General’s Office),” Mahfud told reporters in Tirtonirmolo, Kasihan, Bantul, on Saturday (6/6/2026).
According to Mahfud, the BGN’s management under Dadan appeared reckless during its first few months. Firstly, he continued, there was a significant lack of understanding regarding what the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme actually entailed.
“Secondly, Mr Dadan has no experience in bureaucracy and does not understand state financial law; it was as if everything could be done at his whim,” he said.
Furthermore, Mahfud revealed that during the first three months of the MBG programme, specifically when incidents of food poisoning occurred, the public had already raised many complaints. He attributed this to the poor governance of the BGN under Dadan.
“The MBG is a good programme, but the governance was very poor. We requested evaluations that were never heard; now the impact is being felt, as there are hundreds of billions [in losses] due to Dadan’s actions,” he said.
Mahfud also highlighted that the BGN under Dadan lacked the competence to perform its functions, noting that the agency entered into contracts unrelated to the MBG.
“Indeed, there was no competence; the reality was that everything was poor, and all those contracts were problematic. Many of the contracts made involved matters irrelevant to MBG affairs,” he said.
Mahfud added that what the Attorney General’s Office has revealed so far is only the surface. He believes Dadan’s actions may be even more severe.
“In truth, it is much worse than what has been revealed; it will certainly come to light in court,” he said.
It was previously reported that the former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, along with two former Deputy Heads, Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung, have been detained by the Attorney General’s Office. The three were detained after being named suspects in the alleged corruption of the MBG programme management.
“The investigation concerns the alleged criminal act of corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme at the National Nutrition Agency for the 2025-2026 period,” said the Director of Investigation at the Attorney General’s Office’s Special Crimes Division, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, during a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta on Wednesday (3/6/2026).
He stated that the investigation was conducted based on a warrant dated 29 May 2026. The designation of suspects followed the examination of the three individuals as witnesses.
“After these examinations, DH, SS, and LP were examined as witnesses, and based on two sufficient pieces of evidence obtained by the investigative team, the team has named DH, as Head of the National Nutrition Agency, SS, as Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency for Operational Nutrition Fulfilment, and LP, as Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency for Organisational Development and Institutional Relations, as suspects in the investigation of alleged corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal programme,” Syarief said.
Dadan, Sony, and Lodewyk were removed from their positions at the BGN by President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday (2/6).