free meals program

Hundreds of Indonesian students protested in Jakarta, demanding lower fuel and food prices and urging President Prabowo Subianto to cut costly state spending as economic pressures rise. Fuel prices surged 32% this week, and the rupiah hit a historic low, prompting demonstrators to resist police attempts to divert them from a key business district. Similar protests occurred in Bandung and Pontianak.

Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN) faced a governance crisis leading to the dismissal of its chief and two deputies in June, followed by a surprise raid. The turmoil highlights issues with the free meals program turning into a patronage problem.

Indonesian investigators searched the National Nutrition Agency offices following the president's dismissal of its head, Dadan Hindayana, over issues with standard operating procedures and food quality in the free meals program. The program, criticized for high costs and food poisoning cases, aims to provide meals to 90 million people but faces logistical and financial challenges.

Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office is searching the National Nutrition Agency’s offices following the president’s dismissal of the agency’s head, who oversees the free meals program.

Indonesian investigators searched the National Nutrition Agency's offices after President Prabowo Subianto fired the agency's chief over issues with the free meals program. The program, criticized for high costs and food poisoning cases, aims to provide meals to 90 million children and pregnant women but faces logistical and financial challenges.