Overview
- President Prabowo removed National Nutrition Agency chief Dadan Hindayana on Tuesday following an internal evaluation that flagged food-quality and governance failings.
- Hours after the dismissal, Attorney-General's Office investigators raided the agency's Jakarta headquarters and arrested Dadan and two other former officials on graft-related charges.
- Prosecutors say suspects steered contracts to affiliated foundations that ran programme kitchens and carried out marked-up procurement of items such as motorbikes, shoes, tablets and televisions while state losses are still being calculated.
- The free meals scheme, launched in January 2025, has been tied to mass food-poisoning incidents affecting tens of thousands of children and carries at least a US$15 billion price tag to feed roughly 83 million people.
- The government insists services will continue during the legal review even as anti-graft groups demand termination or budget reallocation, and investigators’ next steps to quantify losses and examine contracting will determine whether the programme is restructured or curtailed.