TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Fraud, alleged illegal levying raise questions about free meals program’s implementation
A string of hiccups in the pilot tests of the government’s free nutritious meal program, including alleged fraud, have prompted questions over how the plan would efficiently be implemented nationwide this week.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka inspects a trial of the free nutritious meal program on Nov. 4, 2024, at SDN 1 Langkai state elementary school in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan. (Antara/Auliya Rahman)
A
string of hiccups in the pilot tests of the government’s free nutritious meals program, including alleged fraud, have prompted questions over how the plan will be efficiently implemented nationwide this week.
The free meals program is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship campaign platforms, aiming to feed 82 million children, primary and secondary school students and pregnant women to improve childhood nutrition.
The program is set to be offered to students nationally as early as Jan. 2, National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
But the free meals program has seen several obstacles in the trial run, from allegations of illegal levying and fraud to inconsistent menus.
A video clip of a parents’ meeting at an unspecified school posted on Dec. 18 on TikTok by account @ahmad.lehan6 with a caption alleging illegal levying went viral last week.
“The meals are free but you must buy two lunch boxes to eat them, each one costs Rp 30,000 [US$1.86], so buying two means you spend Rp 60,000 per child,” the caption said.
Nutrition agency spokesperson Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan, a police officer with the rank of senior commissioner, was quick to deny the allegation, saying that the program is completely free of charge given that it is a government initiative.
