Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meal Program Faces Corruption Probe and New Scientific Initiative

The Indonesian Army has publicly affirmed respect for the ongoing legal process after allegations emerged that Colonel BU, an active‑duty officer serving as a senior official in the National Nutrition Agency, may have been involved in the mismanagement of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. The case concerns a budget of roughly Rp1.03 trillion and includes suspected irregularities in the procurement of electric motorcycles. Prosecutors have shifted the investigation from a special criminal unit to military criminal jurisdiction, and the army says it will cooperate fully if evidence of wrongdoing is found.

At the same time, the East Java provincial secretariat hosted the second National Scientific Meeting of the Indonesian Nutrition Experts Association (TIN II Persagi) in Surabaya. Experts from 31 provinces gathered to formulate recommendations aimed at strengthening the MBG programme’s food safety, nutrition security, and stunting‑reduction goals. The forum highlighted East Java’s recent drop in stunting prevalence from 17.7 % to 14.7 % and plans to channel the advice to both central and regional authorities to improve programme implementation and support local farmers, fishermen and MSMEs in the supply chain.