MBG Watch Seals BGN Building, Demands MBG Programme Be Halted
A civil society coalition under the banner of MBG Watch staged a symbolic protest by sealing the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, 10 June 2026. MBG Watch member Agus Sarwono urged President Prabowo Subianto to halt the MBG programme, arguing that its current governance is designed for rent-seeking. “The proof is that former BGN leaders were arrested by the Attorney General’s Office,” he stated at the BGN building.
The researcher from Transparency International Indonesia said MBG Watch has received numerous complaints regarding the programme since October 2025, ranging from food quality issues to poisoning cases. The coalition’s analysis suggests these problems arose because the programme was designed to fail from the outset. For instance, the MBG programme operated without any regulation for ten months following its launch on 31 October 2025. “We also highlight the enormous risk of corruption,” he added, noting that loopholes for conflicts of interest remain.
The coalition is demanding the government conduct a total evaluation by auditing the programme, focusing on governance improvements and preventing conflicts of interest. He also urged the government to shift the beneficiary targets more accurately, directing the MBG programme towards communities in poverty-stricken and stunting-prone areas. The coalition has given BGN 30 days to fix its governance, warning that failure to do so will result in further demonstrations with significantly larger crowds.
Celios Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira stated that his institution had warned of corruption loopholes before the programme was implemented, but the government did not listen. In 2024, Celios mapped out four potential corruption risks in the MBG programme, including the procurement and distribution of food, falsification of beneficiary data, mismanagement of funds, and irregularities in oversight and evaluation processes.
President Prabowo Subianto recently inaugurated Nanik Sudaryati Deyang as the new Head of BGN on 8 June 2026, replacing Dadan Hindayana who was removed from office. The inauguration followed the Attorney General’s Office naming former BGN leaders Dadan Hindayana, Sony Sonjaya, and Lodewyk Pusung as suspects in a corruption case involving the programme covering the 2025–2026 period.
Following her inauguration, Nanik stated her intention to be prudent with the free nutritious meal budget, noting that financial discipline would be supported by Deputy Head Agustina Arumsari, a former official at the Development Finance Comptroller. She pledged not to make any decisions regarding expenditure without Arumsari’s approval and said the agency would focus on budget efficiency without reducing the target number of beneficiaries.