Indonesia wanted to give children free school meals. How did it go so wrong?

{"text":[[{"start":10.52,"text":"Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took power in 2024 with a bold and simple pledge to deliver free school meals for every child — a goal that seemed unimpeachably laudable for a nation with widespread malnutrition."}],[{"start":24.96,"text":"But more than 18 months later, Prabowo’s promise has proved far less healthy than he hoped for his government, the country’s finances and even for many of its intended beneficiaries."}],[{"start":35.88,"text":"Last month the programme’s director abruptly quit, saying she was “acutely traumatised” by the stress of running the Rp229tn ($12.8bn) scheme. She had only been in the job for 45 days after her predecessor was arrested for suspected corruption."}],[{"start":53.04,"text":"Meanwhile in towns and villages across the vast Indonesian archipelago, repeated instances of food poisoning have undermined the most obvious intention of the policy: to improve the health and nutrition of the nation’s children and expectant mothers."}],[{"start":67.16,"text":"Bad news keeps stacking up. An opinion poll released this week showed that the public approval rating for the free meals programme has plummeted to 34 per cent from 62.5 per cent in November."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":78.7,"text":"The programme was in “systemic crisis”, said MBG Watch, a civil society coalition focusing on the monitoring of the free meals programme."}],[{"start":87.76,"text":"The scheme’s “institutional design is faulty from the start,” said Media Wahyudi Askar from the coalition. “Now . . . the institution has been rigidly formed . . . and established with a chaotic system.”"}],[{"start":100.32,"text":"“Fixing it would require a very high cost and very strong political will,” he said."}],[{"start":105.28,"text":"Prabowo has made the free meals programme his top priority, citing the urgent need to address malnutrition and stunting in the world’s fourth most populous country."}],[{"start":114.44,"text":"The programme is supposed to reach 82.9mn recipients when fully rolled out, as per the initial plan. The scheme, launched in January 2025, currently serves 62.7mn people but that is likely to be scaled back as the government trims the budget."}],[{"start":130.76,"text":"Mounting troubles at the flagship programme have soured public sentiment and added to broader concerns over Prabowo’s macroeconomic direction."}],[{"start":139.22,"text":"An opinion poll released this week by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting showed that around 61.6 per cent of the public were dissatisfied with the programme due to corruption allegations, governance concerns and food-poisoning cases. The programme — which was Prabowo’s main campaign promise — was popular initially and helped him get elected."}],[{"start":159.5,"text":"Critics say an inadequate governance framework has been one of the biggest issues hampering implementation."}],[{"start":164.96,"text":"They also point to a lack of oversight of the National Nutrition Agency, the government body overseeing the scheme."}],[{"start":171.16,"text":"As a result, they say, corruption has flourished, especially in the allocation of kitchen operations."}],[{"start":177.18,"text":"The agency selects kitchen operators after evaluating proposals submitted by interested parties. The military and the police own and operate hundreds of kitchens. Indonesia Corruption Watch reported last year that dozens of kitchen-related foundations are affiliated with political figures. At least seven are connected to individuals affiliated with the Great Indonesia Movement Party, Prabowo’s political vehicle, ICW said."}],[{"start":204.04,"text":"In June, the agency’s chief Dadan Hindayana and two of his deputies were named suspects by the Attorney General’s Office in an alleged corruption case. In its statement, the AGO said the suspects had awarded contracts to run kitchens to foundations that they owned."}],[{"start":216.44,"text":"“Governance is the root cause of everything that has gone wrong in the programme, including the poisonous meals,” said Diah Satyani Saminarsih, founder and chief executive of the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives."}],[{"start":229.12,"text":"According to the Network for Education Watch Indonesia, 40,759 of the free meal recipients suffered from food poisoning as of July. Its national co-ordinator Ubaid Matraji said the number was a “warning over failure in food safety systems and programme oversight”."}],[{"start":245.92,"text":"Despite the recurring incidents, Prabowo has repeatedly undermined the number. In October last year, he said the 8,000 poisoning cases then were only 0.0007 per cent of the total meals provided, adding the figure was still “within a humane margin of error”."}],[{"start":262.08,"text":"In recent months, amid intensifying criticism, Prabowo’s administration has begun to acknowledge problems and make changes."}],[{"start":269.28,"text":"A moratorium has been placed on new contracts for kitchens after the arrest of Dadan. More than 27,000 kitchens are currently operating across Indonesia."}],[{"start":278.32,"text":"New chief Sudaryono said this week he had permanently shut down 833 kitchens as they failed to meet operational and hygiene standards."}],[{"start":287.24,"text":"The programme’s vast budget has already been slashed repeatedly as Indonesia’s public finances have come under growing strain. The budget allocation has been reduced from the initial Rp335tn ($18.5bn) to Rp229tn."}],[{"start":303.72,"text":"Early on, the government cut budgets for education and infrastructure to fund the free meals — a move that has also angered the public. Adding to the scheme’s woes, on Thursday Indonesia’s constitutional court ruled that the education budget could not be used to finance the scheme."}],[{"start":319.12,"text":"Prabowo’s expensive welfare policies have already put pressure on the country’s finances. Higher oil prices this year have added to the strains as Indonesia doles out fuel subsidies. Last year, the country recorded a fiscal deficit of 2.92 per cent, nearing the domestic legal cap of 3 per cent."}],[{"start":337.08,"text":"Sudaryono, who was Prabowo’s personal assistant from 2010 to 2014, admitted the ongoing issues in the programme."}],[{"start":344.52,"text":"“We have seen that there . . . is an issue of governance,” he said this month after being formally appointed as the chief of the agency. He said his team sought to have “zero tolerance against corrupt practices and hanky-panky”."}],[{"start":362,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785644655_1885.mp3"}