CHANGING THE GUARD AT THE NATIONAL NUTRITION AGENCY: A MOMENT OF REFORM OR MERELY A CHANGE OF FACE?

The Free Nutritious Meals Programme (Makan Bergizi Gratis, hereafter MBG) stands as one of the flagship initiatives of President Prabowo Subianto's administration, launched on 6 January 2025. Designed to serve millions of beneficiaries — from toddlers and school pupils across all levels of education to pregnant and breastfeeding women — the programme carries the commendable ambition of reducing stunting and malnutrition as part of the broader vision of a prosperous Indonesia by 2045. By June 2026, it had reportedly reached 62.9 million beneficiaries, a figure that, in sheer scale, commands respect.

Yet beneath these impressive numbers lies a series of serious problems that cannot be overlooked. On 2 June 2026, President Prabowo formally removed Dadan Hindayana from his post as Head of the Badan Gizi Nasional (BGN, the National Nutrition Agency) after eighteen months in office, replacing him with Nanik Sudaryati Deyang. This was no routine reshuffle. It constituted an open admission that something had gone fundamentally wrong in the management of the largest nutritional programme in Indonesia's history. The question that immediately follows is whether this change of leadership is sufficient to address the deep-seated structural problems at hand, or whether it amounts to little more than rearranging the furniture whilst the foundations remain unsound.

A Critical Appraisal of New Leadership at Indonesia's Badan Gizi Nasional

The Anatomy of Failure: Why Dadan Had to Go

The removal of Dadan Hindayana was grounded in an eighteen-month evaluation that identified three principal shortcomings: violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs), deficiencies in organisational governance, and a failure to maintain the food quality standards established by the BGN itself. None of these can be dismissed as minor technical oversights; collectively, they strike at the very heart of what a large-scale food distribution programme must get right.

The concrete evidence of these failures is sobering. Data from the Ministry of Health recorded 37,673 cases of food poisoning across 445 incidents as of May 2026, with 2,348 victims requiring hospitalisation. The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) reported an even higher cumulative figure of 21,254 poisoning cases from 2025 through to early 2026. In the city of Solo alone, 78 out of the operational nutrition service units (SPPG) were found to be non-compliant with technical guidelines — their facilities substandard, their physical construction deviating from specifications, and lacking dedicated spaces for nutrition supervisors.

These failures echo well-established findings in the academic literature on government-run food programmes. Bhutta et al. (2013), writing in The Lancet, argue unequivocally that nutritional interventions will falter in the absence of rigorous quality oversight and consistent food safety standards. Similarly, Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler (2004), in their seminal framework on transformative social protection, caution that programmes focused solely on quantitative reach — how many people are covered — whilst neglecting the quality of the service provided, risk producing outcomes that are ultimately counterproductive to the very welfare they seek to promote.

Nanik S. Deyang: Assets and Expectations

Nanik Sudaryati Deyang is no stranger to the BGN. She served as Deputy Head for Public Communication and Investigation from 17 September 2025 — approximately nine months before her appointment as head — and her tenure in that role was not confined to administrative routine. She was actively engaged in field monitoring, budget efficiency reviews, and the closure of substandard production kitchens. It is this track record, more than anything else, that provides the most credible basis for cautious optimism about her leadership.

Her academic credentials — a first degree in Biology from Universitas Jenderal Soedirman and a Master's in Forestry from Universitas Gadjah Mada — offer a grounding in the life sciences, even if they do not directly encompass clinical nutrition. Her earlier role as Deputy Head of the Body for Accelerating Poverty Alleviation (2024–2025) and her continued involvement with the GSN Foundation, which focuses on empowering women, children, and the poor, suggest a genuine familiarity with the programme's target groups.

Nanik also brings a quality that many career technocrats lack: the investigative instinct of a seasoned journalist. As a former editor-in-chief of Femme magazine and a commissioner of several media companies, she is trained to identify problems, shape narratives, and manage crises under public scrutiny. At a time when the MBG is beset by negative press coverage and protests from various quarters, these communication and investigative capabilities may prove to be genuine assets.

From the perspective of leadership theory, the political trust vested in Nanik by the President — she was a loyal member of the Prabowo-Sandi campaign team in 2019 and serves as Vice Chair of the GSN Foundation — can be read as conferring sufficient political capital to take decisive action when needed. Burns (1978), in his foundational work on transformational leadership, emphasises that meaningful institutional change requires a leader who possesses not only moral vision but also the full confidence of the highest authority. On that criterion, Nanik would appear to be reasonably well-placed.

The Challenges Ahead: Not a Question of Willingness, but of Systems

Optimism, however, must be tempered by a clear-eyed assessment of the scale of the challenges awaiting the new head. The first and most urgent is the ongoing crisis of food poisoning. The figure of 37,673 victims is not merely a statistic; it is evidence of a systemic failure across the food safety chain — from production kitchens and distribution logistics through to the point of service. Arresting this failure requires far more than vocal leadership: it demands comprehensive SOP reform and real-time audit mechanisms that are genuinely operational rather than merely nominal.

The second challenge is the absence of adequate legal foundations. As of June 2026, the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) governing the MBG's operational framework had still not been issued, despite the programme having been in operation for more than ten months. The House of Representatives has repeatedly pressed the government for regulatory clarity. Without a Perpres, the division of responsibilities between institutions remains ambiguous, accountability is diffuse, and the BGN is exposed to legitimate legal challenges. This is not a problem that Nanik can resolve on her own; it demands political will from the government as a whole.

The third challenge concerns the management of an enormous budget. The MBG has been allocated between IDR 335 trillion and IDR 400 trillion for 2026 — a 96 per cent increase on the previous year — to serve a target of 82.9 million beneficiaries. The sheer scale of these resources creates fertile ground for inefficiency and misappropriation. Reports by BBC Indonesia have drawn attention to more than a hundred partner foundations affiliated with individuals close to government officials, the marginal participation of local small and medium enterprises, and the opacity surrounding the remuneration of workers officially classified as volunteers. These are warning signs that demand urgent attention.

Sidel and Jones (2019) have written perceptively on this risk in the context of developing countries, describing the phenomenon of "elite capture" — a condition in which the benefits of social programmes are diverted towards those already in positions of power rather than reaching the intended recipients. This risk becomes substantially more pronounced when independent oversight mechanisms are weak or poorly functioning.

The fourth challenge is the complexity entailed by operating at such an extraordinary scale. Overseeing a programme that reaches 62.9 million people across Indonesia — including the most remote and underdeveloped regions known as daerah 3T — is a logistical undertaking of remarkable difficulty. An institution whose capacity has not yet fully matured cannot simply be propelled forward by the energy and good intentions of a new leader. What is required is planned and systematic institutional strengthening.

Finally, there remains the question of technical competence. Nanik is not a nutritionist, not a medical professional, and has no prior experience managing a food programme of comparable scale. In a programme whose central concern is the health and safety of millions of children, dependence on a capable and well-resourced technical team is not optional — it is essential. As Marini et al. (2017) demonstrate in their analysis of school nutrition programmes in developing countries, the effectiveness of nutritional interventions is determined above all by the quality of evidence-based monitoring and evaluation systems, not by the general management or communications abilities of the leadership at the top.

Is a Change of Leadership Sufficient?

The critical question that must be confronted is this: does the root cause of the MBG's problems lie in its leadership, or in the design of the programme itself? If the principal failing has been a lack of rigour in enforcing SOPs, then Nanik — with her record of closing non-compliant kitchens and her investigative disposition — does represent a logical source of hope. But if the problems are structural in nature — weak regulation, inadequate institutional capacity, and entrenched conflicts of interest — then changing the head of the agency is, at best, a sticking plaster applied to a deeper wound.

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has framed this correctly: what is needed is not merely a change of personnel but a thorough overhaul of governance. The Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) has gone further, calling for a fundamental re-evaluation of the programme in light of the mounting poisoning cases that have endangered the very groups it was designed to protect.

Nanik Sudaryati Deyang inherits her position under far from favourable circumstances. She takes on a programme that is simultaneously ambitious and troubled, burdened with a vast budget, intense public scrutiny, and expectations that considerably exceed the institutional capacity available to meet them. The political trust she enjoys from the President is a valuable asset, but it is not sufficient on its own. What is more urgently required is systemic reform: the enactment of the MBG's Perpres, the strengthening of independent audit mechanisms, the consistent enforcement of food safety standards, and a genuine openness to evaluation grounded in scientific evidence.

Conclusion

The Free Nutritious Meals Programme represents a laudable intention in need of substantially better execution. The replacement of the BGN's head in June 2026 is an event that admits of two interpretations: either it signals the government's genuine readiness to put its house in order, or it represents an attempt to find a scapegoat without addressing the underlying causes of dysfunction. This moment will carry real meaning only if it is followed by structural reform of genuine substance.

Nanik S. Deyang possesses sufficient assets to serve as an effective agent of change — insider knowledge of the BGN's operations, the President's confidence, and a sharp investigative sensibility. Yet she must also recognise that the challenges before her exceed what any individual can resolve alone. The long-term success of the MBG is not primarily a question of who leads the BGN; it is a question of whether the entire policy ecosystem — regulation, oversight, budgetary management, and technical human resources — can be reformed in a systematic and accountable manner, in the service of the Indonesian children who remain the programme's ultimate purpose.

References

Foreign References

Bhutta, Z. A., Das, J. K., Rizvi, A., Gaffey, M. F., Walker, N., Horton, S., ... & Black, R. E. (2013). Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition: What can be done and at what cost? The Lancet, 382(9890), 452–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60646-6

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.

Devereux, S., & Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2004). Transformative social protection. IDS Working Paper 232. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Marini, A., Rokx, C., & Gallagher, P. (2017). Standing tall: Peru's success in overcoming its stunting crisis. World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1205-9

Sidel, M., & Jones, B. (2019). Elite capture and civil society in Southeast Asia: Rethinking social protection programs. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 50(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022463418000929

World Food Programme. (2020). State of school feeding worldwide 2020. World Food Programme. https://www.wfp.org/publications/state-school-feeding-worldwide-2020

Indonesian References

Badan Gizi Nasional. (2026). Progres kinerja BGN per 1 Juni 2026. Kompas TV Nasional. https://www.kompas.tv/nasional/672561/progres-kinerja-bgn-per-1-juni-2026

BBC Indonesia. (2026, February). Dapur MBG bermasalah: Pengelolaan dan konflik kepentingan [MBG kitchens problematic: Management and conflicts of interest]. BBC Indonesia. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/articles/czxgx1rx2pxo

Bisnis.com. (2026, 2 June). Ini alasan Prabowo ganti Dadan Hindayana sebagai Kepala BGN [The reasons behind Prabowo's replacement of Dadan Hindayana as BGN Head]. Bisnis.com. https://kabar24.bisnis.com/read/20260602/15/1977954/ini-alasan-prabowo-ganti-dadan-hindayana-sebagai-kepala-bgn

CNN Indonesia. (2026, 2 June). Profil Nanik S. Deyang, Kepala BGN baru pengganti Dadan Hindayana [Profile: Nanik S. Deyang, the new BGN Head replacing Dadan Hindayana]. CNN Indonesia. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20260602202013-92-1364655/

Databoks Katadata. (2026). RAPBN 2026: Anggaran Makan Bergizi Gratis Rp335 triliun [State Budget 2026: Free Nutritious Meals allocation IDR 335 trillion]. Katadata. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/ekonomi-makro/statistik/689c504a56ce6/

Hukumonline. (2026). Menanti janji pemerintah untuk segera terbitkan Perpres tata kelola MBG [Awaiting the government's promise to issue the MBG governance Presidential Regulation]. Hukumonline. https://www.hukumonline.com/berita/a/menanti-janji-pemerintah-untuk-segera-terbitkan-perpres-tata-kelola-mbg-lt68f1f9d05cd8b/

Kompas. (2026, 3 June). Dadan Hindayana dicopot, pemerintah rombak kepemimpinan BGN: Kualitas makanan jadi sorotan [Dadan Hindayana removed, government overhauls BGN leadership: Food quality under scrutiny]. Kompas. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2026/06/03/05473131/

Kompas. (2026, 2 June). Profil Nanik S. Deyang yang diangkat jadi Kepala BGN gantikan posisi Dadan [Profile: Nanik S. Deyang appointed as BGN Head to replace Dadan]. Kompas. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2026/06/02/21360211/

Kompas Regional. (2026, 12 May). Kemenkes catat 37.000 korban keracunan program Makan Bergizi Gratis hingga Mei 2026 [Ministry of Health records 37,000 poisoning victims under the Free Nutritious Meals Programme through May 2026]. Kompas. https://regional.kompas.com/read/2026/05/12/184946778/

Kontan Nasional. (2026). Dapur MBG bermasalah: Pengawasan harus ketat karena kelola anggaran sangat besar [MBG kitchens problematic: Oversight must be strict given the enormous budget managed]. Kontan. https://nasional.kontan.co.id/news/dapur-mbg-bermasalah-pengawasan-harus-ketat

Kumparan. (2026, 2 June). Alasan Prabowo copot Dadan dari Kepala BGN: Hasil evaluasi SOP dan tata kelola [Reasons for Prabowo removing Dadan as BGN Head: SOP and governance evaluation findings]. Kumparan. https://kumparan.com/news/alasan-prabowo-copot-dadan-dari-kepala-bgn-hasil-evaluasi-sop-dan-tata-kelola-27WIAr8CXQ7

Liputan6. (2026, 2 June). Alasan Dadan Hindayana dicopot dari Kepala BGN [The reasons for Dadan Hindayana's removal from the BGN Headship]. Liputan6. https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/7589777/

Suara.com. (2026, 3 June). Nanik S. Deyang: Pendidikannya apa? Resmi gantikan Dadan sebagai Kepala BGN [Nanik S. Deyang: What is her educational background? Officially replaces Dadan as BGN Head]. Suara.com. https://www.suara.com/lifestyle/2026/06/03/074313/

Tempo. (2026, June). KPAI desak perbaikan tata kelola MBG usai Kepala BGN dicopot [KPAI urges improvement of MBG governance following BGN Head's removal]. Tempo. https://www.tempo.co/politik/kpai-desak-perbaikan-tata-kelola-mbg-usai-kepala-bgn-dicopot-2217678

Tempo. (2026). Mengapa program Makan Bergizi Gratis perlu dihentikan? [Why the Free Nutritious Meals Programme should be halted]. Tempo. https://www.tempo.co/ekonomi/mengapa-program-makan-bergizi-gratis-perlu-dihentikan--2071906

Wikipedia Indonesia. (2026). Makan Bergizi Gratis. Wikipedia. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makan_Bergizi_Gratis

Bahasa

2026 EID AL-ADHA AND THE DAY OF ARAFAH: A Reflective Essay

The Convergence of Islamic Values and the Principles of Human Rights

I. Introduction

Eid al-Adha is one of the greatest celebrations in Islam, observed on the tenth of Dhul Hijjah. Far beyond a mere ritual festivity, it carries profound spiritual, moral, and social dimensions. It commemorates the sacrifice of the Prophet Ibrahim and his son the Prophet Ismail, alaihimassalam, encompasses the act of udhiyah (the ritual slaughter of livestock), and marks the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage — most notably the standing at the Plain of Arafah.

Human Rights (HR), on the other hand, is a modern concept born of humanity’s long struggle for equality, justice, and respect for the dignity of every individual. Although the term itself gained prominence in twentieth-century international law, many of its foundational principles had long been present within Islamic teaching — most vividly in the Qur’an and in the Prophet’s (ﷺ) farewell sermon delivered on the Plain of Arafah.

This essay seeks to trace the threads that connect the values enshrined in Eid al-Adha and the Day of Arafah with the foundational principles of Human Rights, whilst reflecting upon both the points of convergence and the philosophical distinctions between the two traditions within a contemporary Islamic intellectual framework.

II. Human Equality: The Universal Message of the Plain of Arafah

One of the most awe-inspiring sights of the Hajj pilgrimage is the sea of humanity — millions of people from every corner of the globe — dressed in identical white ihram garments, standing together upon the Plain of Arafah. There are no symbols of wealth or poverty, no social castes, no nationality deemed more honourable than another. All stand equal before Allah as His servants.

This principle of equality is deeply consonant with the foremost foundation of modern Human Rights: the recognition that every human being is born with equal dignity and with rights that may not be taken away. Allah declares in the Qur’an:

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another…”

(Qur’an, Al-Hujurat: 13)

This verse constitutes an unequivocal rejection of racial supremacy and ethnic arrogance. In the same spirit, during his farewell sermon on the Plain of Arafah, the Prophet (ﷺ) declared that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab, nor has any non-Arab superiority over an Arab, save through piety. Many Muslim scholars regard this address as one of the earliest moral declarations of human equality in the history of civilisation.

III. The Right to Life and the Sanctity of the Human Soul

The occasion of Eid al-Adha and the Hajj pilgrimage places considerable emphasis upon the sanctity of human life. In his Farewell Sermon (Khutbah al-Wada’), the Prophet (ﷺ) declared that the blood, property, and honour of every person are inviolable. This statement speaks directly to three of the central pillars of modern Human Rights: the right to life, the right to personal security, and the protection of individual honour and dignity.

The Qur’an itself lays a supremely robust moral foundation in this regard:

“Whosoever kills a soul without just cause, it is as though he has killed all of mankind.”

(Qur’an, Al-Ma’idah: 32)

This value establishes a firm moral bedrock: that no human being may be treated arbitrarily or with impunity. The principle is not merely a prohibition against killing; it is a summons to regard every life as an entity of immeasurable worth — a conviction that lies at the very heart of the entire edifice of international human rights law.

IV. Social Justice and Economic Rights Through the Act of Sacrifice

The act of udhiyah during Eid al-Adha is far more than a purely ritual slaughter of livestock. It carries unmistakably tangible social dimensions: feeding the poor, sharing one’s sustenance with others, alleviating socio-economic inequality, and strengthening communal solidarity. Allah commands in the Qur’an:

“Eat of them and feed the contented and the needy.”

(Qur’an, Al-Hajj: 36)

The message of this verse is unambiguous: acts of worship must not remain confined to the realm of private ritual, but must give rise to genuine social and humanitarian impact. From a Human Rights perspective, this ethos corresponds directly to the right to food, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the aspiration of social justice. In other words, the act of udhiyah represents a concrete manifestation of Islam’s concern for the economic and social rights of its most vulnerable members.

V. Moral Freedom and Human Dignity in the Story of Ibrahim

The narrative of the Prophet Ibrahim and the Prophet Ismail, alaihimassalam, which forms the spiritual backdrop of Eid al-Adha, contains a lesson on moral freedom that is frequently overlooked. In the Qur’an, the Prophet Ibrahim did not coerce Ismail unilaterally or by brute force. Instead, there was a dialogue of remarkable nobility:

“O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I am to slaughter you. So consider what you think.”

(Qur’an, As-Saffat: 102)

There are elements of communication, conscious awareness, and consent within this narrative. It suggests that the human being is not a mere object devoid of will, but a dignified creature invited to understand the meaning of sacrifice. A number of contemporary Muslim scholars and thinkers see in this dialogue a lesson that Islam honours human agency and the freedom of the will — a value that equally stands at the core of the concept of rights and freedoms within the Human Rights tradition.

VI. The Day of Arafah and the Universal Consciousness of Humanity

The Plain of Arafah is widely regarded by Islamic scholars as a miniature of the Day of Judgement: humanity gathers stripped of all worldly status, conscious of the transience of life, and in anticipation of divine reckoning. From this profound spiritual experience arises a vital existential awareness — that all human beings are mortal, all are weak before Allah, and all are in need of His mercy.

It is precisely this awareness that forms the ethical root of respect for one’s fellow human beings: if all people are equally mortal and equally weak before Allah, then no one has the right to oppress another. This spiritual value is closely akin to the ethical foundation of Human Rights — namely, the recognition that every person possesses an inherent dignity that no power, however great, may diminish.

VII. Points of Convergence and Philosophical Differences with Modern Human Rights

Despite the many strong points of convergence, it must equally be understood that Islam and modern Human Rights are not entirely identical. Islam is exceptionally robust in its affirmation of the right to life, social justice, the protection of the vulnerable, the prohibition of racism, and the safeguarding of personal honour. Nevertheless, on certain specific contemporary issues, differences of interpretation exist between international human rights law and classical Islamic jurisprudence.

The most fundamental difference lies in their philosophical groundings. Many modern human rights frameworks place individual rights at the centre as an autonomous, self-standing concept. In Islam, by contrast, rights are always paired with responsibilities — to Allah, to the community, to the family, and to moral values. Freedom in Islam does not mean freedom without limits, but rather freedom that is bound by justice and accountability.

Contemporary Muslim scholars endeavour to bridge these two traditions through the framework of maqasid al-shari’ah — the overarching objectives of Islamic law — which encompass the preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property. These five objectives, in fact, overlap substantially with the fundamental rights recognised in international human rights instruments.

VIII. Conclusion

Eid al-Adha and the Day of Arafah are not merely occasions of annual ritual observance. They are grand reminders of universal human values: the equal dignity of all people, the sanctity of life and honour, social solidarity, the rejection of all forms of racism and arrogance, and the moral responsibility of every individual towards others.

These values share a powerful intersection with the foundations of Human Rights, even though the two traditions emerge from different intellectual sources. Herein lies the richness of civilisation: that truth concerning the dignity and rights of human beings may be arrived at by different paths — whether through divine revelation or through the long and arduous reasoning of human history.

By understanding the deep connection between Eid al-Adha and the principles of Human Rights, it is hoped that the commemoration of this celebration will no longer remain a ritual merely to be observed, but will become a genuine inspiration to champion justice, equality, and respect for the dignity of every human being in the course of daily life.

Bahasa