Jakarta: Indonesian leaders have dismissed those in charge of the free school lunch program. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto abruptly dismissed the head of the free school lunch program following a serious scandal involving numerous food poisoning cases among students and allegations of budget corruption. The Cabinet Secretariat Minister announced yesterday that President Prabowo Subianto has dismissed Dadan Hindayana, director of the National Nutrition Agency, from her position in charge of the government's free school lunch program. This follows an evaluation that found her performance to be seriously lacking in discipline, governance, and food quality standards.
According to Thai News Agency, this move comes after the project faced a serious scandal. Statistics show that as of April, 33,000 schoolchildren who ate food from the program had fallen ill with diarrhea and food poisoning, with more than 600 requiring hospitalization due to severe symptoms. Meanwhile, an anti-corruption agency filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, alleging irregularities and budgetary irregularities totaling nearly $50 million USD in the procurement of halal certifications.
Dadan, an entomology expert, had previously faced heavy criticism for his proposal to encourage people to drink two liters of milk a day, as well as his idea of using insects and sago worms as ingredients in school meals. Furthermore, just days before his dismissal, he had proposed a plan to expand this free food program to Saudi Arabia, surprising society at a time when the country's system remained in crisis.
President Prabowo has appointed Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, deputy director of the agency and former journalist, who was part of his 2024 campaign team, as acting director, amidst public criticism that she also lacks direct experience in nutrition and food safety.
Despite a change in leadership and a search of the office by officials from the Attorney General's office, the Indonesian government insists on continuing its free food program, as it was a key campaign promise. Currently, the program benefits over 62 million people and aims to expand coverage to 82.9 million children and pregnant women by the end of this year. However, the budget has been reduced to 268 trillion rupiah (approximately 491 billion baht) to alleviate fiscal pressure.