The Tamesis
June 3, 2026
jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday fired Dadan Hindayana, head of the National Nutrition Bureau (BGN), ending a nearly two-year battle to implement a national free meals program that has been marred by widespread food poisoning and allegations of budget misuse.
The much-hyped multibillion-dollar plan is a flagship policy of Prabowo’s 2024 campaign.
The government says it has provided meals to more than 61 million people as of March, but tens of thousands have fallen ill since the program launched last January.
Just days before his dismissal, Dadan proposed extending the free meal program to Saudi Arabia after a recent visit there.
“The president has decided to make changes in the leadership of the National Nutrition Agency,” State Secretary Prasetio Hadi told reporters at the presidential palace in central Jakarta, citing food quality as one of the various concerns behind the move.
Critics have called for the program to be suspended over health concerns and corruption allegations.
“The government will continue to ensure that throughout the review process, all National Nutrition Agency programs will continue to operate as they should,” Plasetio said.
Dadan, an entomologist who has led the agency since its inception, was appointed head of the BGN at the end of his term by former President Joko Widodo as a way of supporting incoming successor Prabowo. He was replaced by his deputy, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, a close aide to Prabowo.
Last month, anti-corruption watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) filed a complaint against Dadan over alleged budget irregularities.
Prabowo acknowledged there were problems and vowed to discipline anyone found to have acted inappropriately.
Dadan told the House of Representatives last year that the program was responsible for at least 11,000 cases of poisoning, with more than 600 people hospitalized.
IPB University professors visited the School of Indonesia Jeddah (SIJ) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, following the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, at the invitation of students and school officials. After the visit, he said that a feasibility study is being carried out to provide free meals to about 1,000 students in the school.
Dadan originally went to Hajj at his own expense with his wife, but on Tuesday morning, he was ordered to accompany Prabowo to visit SMPN 111, a public high school in Palmela, West Jakarta, so he had to shorten his trip.
While the free meals program has been plagued by problems, the announcement of the ouster later that night still came as a surprise. The government offered no explanation for his sudden dismissal.
More than 20% of children in Indonesia are stunted due to severe malnutrition.
The government hopes the program will provide meals for at least 82.9 million children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women – about a third of the country’s population.
It is one of the first budget items to be cut as Jakarta moves to combat the economic fallout of war in the Middle East.
