The government is strongly committed to continuing the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program amidst the storm of legal processes hitting the internal body of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). A responsive and transparent attitude is claimed to be the main foundation for the government in reforming the governance of this national strategic program so as not to sacrifice the interests of vulnerable communities in various regions of Indonesia.
Reported by Antara, Friday, June 19, 2026, the Chief of Presidential Staff, General TNI (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman, emphasized that the change of leadership within BGN and the firm steps taken by law enforcement officials are clear evidence that the evaluation is proceeding objectively. The legal issues currently surfacing will not be a reason for the government to stop a program that directly touches the livelihoods of many people.
“The change of BGN leadership and the ongoing legal process show that the government is not turning a blind eye to the problems occurring. The government has the courage to evaluate, fix weaknesses, and reform the program’s governance so it becomes better in the future,” Dudung said at the Bina Graha Building, Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Friday, June 19, 2026.
Dudung added that President Prabowo Subianto has given very clear instructions so that the fulfillment of nutrition for vulnerable groups of society is not disrupted in the slightest by this legal dynamic. Internal obstacles are ensured not to break the supply chain of nutrients heavily needed by the target recipients in the field.
“We must not stop just because there is a problem, but instead we must learn from that problem, improve the system, and ensure the program’s benefits still reach the community,” Dudung emphasized.
As part of the control function, the Executive Office of the President (KSP) also moved quickly to conduct sudden inspections (sidak) at several Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). Based on direct observations, KSP found that many service units have optimally adopted standard operating procedures in the field.
According to Dudung, from the inspection results, KSP identified that there are SPPGs running very well, starting from the cleanliness of the kitchen area, the quality of food ingredients, food safety aspects, distribution accuracy, to the quality of service to beneficiaries. These good practices in the field are planned to be used as models to be replicated in other areas according to their respective regional needs.
The government prioritizes that the distribution of this nutritious food reaches the layers of society that need it most, including in the outermost regions. The supervision system at the grassroots level is now being improved to run tighter, cleaner, transparently, and measurably.
“This supervision is important because the Free Nutritious Meal program must not only be measured by the number or quantity of beneficiaries, but must prioritize quality, target accuracy, food safety, and real benefits for the community,” Dudung said.
Asset Seizure
While the government focuses on fixing operational aspects, the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) continues to move forward with fully investigating the alleged corruption in the governance of the MBG program for the fiscal year 2025–2026. The investigation team of the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) has just seized one unit of a luxury car, a Toyota Alphard with the license plate number B 2135 FGX, belonging to suspect Asep Yusuf Soemantri (AYS).
The Director of Investigation (Dirdik) of Jampidsus Kejagung, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, confirmed that the asset was seized directly from the hands of the suspect, who is a private party as well as a confidant of the former Deputy Head of BGN, Sony Sonjaya. Asep is suspected of gaining special access from Sony to intervene with the partner verification team and arrange the registration process for prospective SPPGs before eventually providing a sum of bribe money.
“The car is from one of the suspects we detained about a week ago, namely Brother AYS. Investigators just obtained the car today, so it was just seized,” Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi said at the Jampidsus Kejagung Building, Thursday, June 18, 2026 night.
Not only seizing the luxury vehicle, the Kejagung investigation team also carried out a mass sealing of 17,600 units of electric motorcycles in the Sentul and Cikarang areas. This security measure was taken to catalog and localize the procurement assets belonging to BGN that indicate strong signs of being the object of budget irregularities through the modus operandi of price markup.
“The motorcycles have not yet reached the points designated by BGN. They are still in the warehouses belonging to the provider, so we secured those motorcycles by sealing them so that the movement of the motorcycles can be monitored by the investigation team,” Syarief said.
To date, this jumbo-valued corruption has dragged down six suspects. They are the former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana, former Deputy Head Lodewyk Pusung, Sony Sonjaya, Asep Yusuf Soemantri, Andri Mulyono, and Glory Harimas as private parties.
