Indonesia arrests former head of President Prabowo’s flagship free meal scheme

The scheme was linked to cases of food poisoning that have reportedly affected at least 33,000 children as of April.

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

JAKARTA: Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Wednesday (Jun 3) that three former officials of the National Nutrition Agency, including its recently fired chief, have been arrested over alleged violations relating to an ambitious free-meal programme.

The case is related to graft allegations, the office said.

Two sources, requesting anonymity, told Reuters that AGO personnel raided the agency's headquarters at 2am local time on Wednesday in multiple vehicles. 

The building remained under lockdown at 11am, and employees who were meant to report for duty were not allowed to enter the premises.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

This came just hours after President Prabowo Subianto sacked the head of the agency, Dadan Hindayana. 

Dadan, an entomologist who had led the National Nutrition Agency since its inception in late 2024, stands accused of "crimes in the management" of the scheme, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi of the AGO told reporters in Jakarta.

The programme was a key part of Prabowo's presidential campaign, and the government has budgeted at least US$15 billion for an ambitious bid to provide free meals to 83 million children and pregnant women across the sprawling archipelago.

However, investors wary of Prabowo's big spending plans have worried that fiscal deficit thresholds could be challenged due to the programme. 

The scheme was also linked to cases of food poisoning that have affected at least 33,000 children as of April, according to Network for Education Watch, a non-governmental organisation.

Newsletter

Morning Brief

Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief

An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here