Indonesia's Prabowo fires head of free meals scheme plagued by poisonings

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has fired the head of the agency responsible for his flagship free meals programme, which has been plagued by mass food poisonings and corruption allegations.

The multi-billion-dollar scheme, a centrepiece of Prabowo’s 2024 presidential campaign, aims to offer free meals to 80 million school children.

But tens of thousands of children across the country have fallen ill since the programme was launched in January last year, leading to calls for it to be suspended.

The sacking of Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist, comes a week after Indonesia’s corruption watchdog filed a complaint alleging inconsistencies in budgeting across kitchens.

Prabowo himself has come under fire over the programme, especially for its hefty price tag at a time when Indonesia is grappling with dwindling trade surpluses and a weak currency.

The programme was recently scaled back – from six days a week to five – as authorities sought to mitigate the financial impact of the US’ and Israel’s war in Iran.

Some critics have called for the programme to be suspended altogether.

Early on Wednesday, officials from the Attorney General’s Office raided the premises of the National Nutrition Agency in charge of the free meals programme. Staff were blocked from entering the building.

Dadan has been replaced by his deputy Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, a former journalist and a member of Prabowo’s campaign team in 2024.

While some Indonesians supported the change in leadership, others believe this is a cosmetic move that will not make a significant difference.

“What [the programme] needs right now isn’t just swapping people, but a total overhaul of the concept and system. Without that, it’ll just keep being a source of problems,” wrote X user Ahmad Arif.

Others pointed out that Nanik has neither experience in nutrition nor food safety.

The free meals programme has been linked to at least 33,000 food poisoning cases as of April, according to local non-governmental organisation Network ​for Education Watch.

In addition to the mass poisoning cases, Dadan has also been criticised for making controversial statements, such as his suggestion that each person should drink two litres of milk daily and his proposal to use insects and sago worms in the free meals.

Prabowo has acknowledged that the scheme was beset “with many problems”. In a speech last month, he vowed to take action against anyone who “violates the rules… [or] abuses their authority”.

But the programme still receives public support, he maintains.

“Free nutritious meals are so important for our nation.

“Everywhere I go, I meet ordinary people, farmers, saying, ‘sir, please don’t stop the free nutritious meals programme, this really helps my grandchildren to be able to eat’.”

Additional reporting by Astudestra Ajengrastri in Jakarta

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