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View all search resultsAnalysis: Humans, not numbers: Crisis poisons Prabowo’s flagship program
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A student shows a school meal he received as part of the free nutritious meal program on Sept. 15 at the Nurul Islam Klakah integrated Islamic elementary school (SDIT) in Lumajang, East Java. (Antara/Irfan Sumanjaya)
U
pon returning from his weeklong diplomatic trip, President Prabowo Subianto was forced to quickly shift his focus from international affairs to a domestic crisis.
While he was busy speaking at the United Nations, reports of schoolchildren falling ill with food poisoning from his free nutritious meal program at home skyrocketed. More than 6,000 children across the archipelago have suffered, presenting Prabowo with his biggest test in securing political legitimacy and restoring public trust.
Immediately upon stepping off his plane, he was confronted with the pressing controversy. He acknowledged the outbreak and said a meeting would be held with Dadan Hindayana, head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).
Strikingly, the President emphatically declared that the recent events must not be “politicized”.
This claim, however, rings hollow as his entire political legitimacy hinges on the program's success. The free meals program was at the center of his presidential campaign and populist platform. If this program fails, then so will Prabowo’s legitimacy. Earlier this year, Prabowo himself declared he would not run for reelection if he deems himself a failure during this term.
When the first couple of hundred cases of food poisoning occurred in May, Prabowo downplayed the occurrences as a statistical anomaly, stressing that only 200 or so children out of 3 million, just 0.005 percent, had fallen ill.
Now, he has doubled down on that narrative, arguing that out of the 30 million recipients fed, the number of food poisoning cases accounts for a miniscule 0.00017 percent. The arithmetic may appear reassuring, but it reduces a very human crisis to decimals and percentages. Each sick child represents not just a statistic, but a failure in oversight, quality control and accountability.
