Indonesian Nutrition Program Plagued by Political Interference and Transparency Concerns
A free nutritional eating program in Indonesia is facing scrutiny after a senior official revealed a politician attempted to leverage a recent food poisoning crisis to secure a project related to the program’s kitchen facilities. The incident has ignited concerns about political interference and a lack of transparency within the initiative.
The Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) disclosed on Friday, September 26th, that a politician approached her seeking a contract to manage the kitchens used by providers in the free nutritional eating program, known as MBG. This request came amidst efforts to address a mass poisoning incident, a detail that deeply frustrated the BGN official.
“That’s why it’s serious for me,” the official stated during a press conference in Jakarta. “I answered, ‘You are a politician, instead of helping me figure out how to communicate about the poisoning, you are asking for a kitchen project.’”
The official, who has not been publicly named, indicated she immediately blocked the politician’s communication channels. “I immediately block, block, block,” she said. “It’s good you take care of the kitchen, yeah, I don’t want to be like that.” She further emphasized her commitment to taking decisive action against any problematic units within the program’s supply chain, stating, “Want to the general, who do you want to do, if it violates I will close I do not care. Because this is involved in human lives.”
The controversy surrounding the MBG program extends beyond this single incident. The National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), Ubaid Matraji, has criticized the program’s lack of transparency, arguing that its chaotic implementation stems from a closed-door approach to planning and evaluation.
“The system is not accountable, the management is not transparent, the people involved are not credible. So it is damaged by all the systems,” Matraji explained. He further alleged widespread conflicts of interest, pointing to the allocation of kitchen contracts to various entities, including the police and political parties. “How starting from planning, the appointment of the kitchen, that is open. Do not suddenly take the ration of how many kitchens…that’s playing this,” he said.
These allegations raise serious questions about the integrity of the MBG program and its ability to effectively address nutritional needs within the country. The situation underscores the critical importance of transparent governance and ethical conduct in public health initiatives.
