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08-06-2026
JAKARTA: Indonesian officials on Wednesday arrested the former head of the country’s free school meals program, blighted by mass food poisonings and corruption claims, a day after he was fired.
The much-hyped billion-dollar feeding scheme was the flagship policy of President Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 election campaign. Prabowo fired Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist who had led the National Nutrition Agency since its inception in August 2024, along with two deputies on Tuesday. All three were taken into custody in Jakarta on Wednesday.
They stand accused of “crimes in the management” of the program, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi of the attorney general’s office told reporters.
Authorities earlier raided the nutrition agency’s office as well as the homes of the three defendants, Syarief said.
The government says the program has provided meals to more than 61 million people by March but tens of thousands of people have fallen ill since it was rolled out in January last year.
Critics have called for the scheme to be suspended over hygiene concerns and accusations of corruption.
Last month, anti-graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch filed a complaint against Dadan citing alleged budget irregularities.
Syarief said on Wednesday that foundations appointed by the three defendants to oversee kitchens were allegedly “used as vehicles for crimes.”
Earlier, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has fired the head of the agency responsible for his flagship free meals program, which has been plagued by mass food poisonings and corruption allegations.
The multi-billion-dollar scheme, a centerpiece of Prabowo’s 2024 presidential campaign, aims to offer free meals to 80 million school children but tens of thousands of children across the country have fallen ill since the program was launched in January last year, leading to calls for it to be suspended.
The sacking of Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist, comes a week after Indonesia’s corruption watchdog filed a complaint alleging inconsistencies in budgeting across kitchens.
Prabowo himself has come under fire over the program, especially for its hefty price tag at a time when Indonesia is grappling with dwindling trade surpluses and a weak currency.
The program was recently scaled back from six days a week to five as authorities sought to mitigate the financial impact of the US’ and Israel’s war in Iran.
Some critics have called for the program to be suspended altogether.
Early on Wednesday, officials from the Attorney General’s Office raided the premises of the National Nutrition Agency in charge of the free meals program. Staff were blocked from entering the building.
Dadan has been replaced by his deputy Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, a former journalist and a member of Prabowo’s campaign team in 2024.
While some Indonesians supported the change in leadership, others believe this is a cosmetic move that will not make a significant difference.
“What (the program) needs right now isn’t just swapping people but a total overhaul of the concept and system. Without that, it’ll just keep being a source of problems,” wrote X user Ahmad Arif.
Others pointed out that Nanik has neither experience in nutrition nor food safety.
The free meals program has been linked to at least 33,000 food poisoning cases as of April, according to local non-governmental organization Network for Education Watch. (Int’l News Desk)
