Free meals for children (MBG) is it good as intended ??

[serious_fun]

My gut feeling is that Dadan Hindayana is a perfect scapegoat for General Gemoy, who has been lambasted in the international press for so many fiscal errors.

Just my cynical mind.

 

[pantaiema]

The impact of the MBG program has now spread to ordinary people, including small suppliers such as fruit and fish vendors supplying MBG kitchens. Due to ongoing issues, they have not been paid by the institutions or foundations that own and operate several of these kitchens. In fact, they claim that the funds meant to pay for the goods, fruits, fishes they delivered were instead used to cover legal fees for defending the institution or foundation running the kitchens. These three ladies will need to travel from North Sumatra to MBG office in Jakarta demanding justice, as they are still owed around Rp100 million. While these suppliers are simply trying to recover their unpaid relatively small money, the kitchen operators themselves are reportedly pending, wasting several billion rupiah every day.

 

[Balifrog]

Bit of back crawling ?

Prabowo orders reviews of flagship programmes, signals possible shift

JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto is reassessing two of his flagship programmes, signalling a possible shift in the rollout of the free nutritious meal and Red and White cooperative programmes, amid persistent controversies and growing public scrutiny surrounding his costly initiatives.

www.thestar.com.my

 

[Dave70]

Bit of back crawling ?

Prabowo orders reviews of flagship programmes, signals possible shift

JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto is reassessing two of his flagship programmes, signalling a possible shift in the rollout of the free nutritious meal and Red and White cooperative programmes, amid persistent controversies and growing public scrutiny surrounding his costly initiatives.

www.thestar.com.my

Just being flexible and pragmatic...

 

[pantaiema]

Bit of back crawling ?

Prabowo orders reviews of flagship programmes, signals possible shift

JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto is reassessing two of his flagship programmes, signalling a possible shift in the rollout of the free nutritious meal and Red and White cooperative programmes, amid persistent controversies and growing public scrutiny surrounding his costly initiatives.

www.thestar.com.my

During his Champaign he also said 'he wanted tuition at Indonesia's public universities (PTN) to be free, or at least much cheaper'. Now the opposite happen, as many students pass the non-subsidised route and did not enrol due to the tuition fee is even higher than in the private universities.

 

[pantaiema]

Nanik S. Deyang was previously one of the deputy officials at BGN, the agency responsible for managing and administering the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program for schoolchildren. She was appointed as the head of the agency only about a month ago, after serving as a deputy under the previous leadership.

It is difficult to understand why she was appointed to the top position in the first place, given that she had been part of the previous administration. As a deputy, she would likely have been aware of the agency's operations and any issues within the MBG program. Considering that the alleged corruption in the MBG program is currently under investigation, it is reasonable to ask whether she had knowledge of, or any even benefiting from it ?

However, replacing her with Sudaryono (41), a much younger and relatively new figure, may not necessarily be the best solution, especially in a country like Indonesia where corruption has arguably become deeply embedded in parts of society and, in some cases, treated almost as a subculture or accepted practice. People at that age are typically still in the phase of building their careers and accumulating wealth, which can raise questions about potential conflicts of interest and accountability. Moreover, he is affiliated with the Gerindra Party, the political party of the current president. He has not got a good track record of managing program like MBG program. About tackling corruption in MBG, he made his first speech CLEAN OR GET FIRED!, well time will tell. When someone become the top person in the country from the help of different parties, people, it is not uncommon to rewards them once you get elected. MBG is a good program for this sort of reward as it could reach many parties at a different level.


CLEAN OR GET FIRED! Sudaryono Threatens MBG Program Mafia

After being asked to resign (?), Nanik SUDDENLY seeks medical treatment abroad. The timing has raised questions among some observers, who speculate that individuals connected to the alleged network may have encouraged her to leave the country to avoid public scrutiny.

 

[Balifrog]

When you have to close 833 MBG kitchen it shows a problem exist, but it is still less than 3% of the total.

Indonesian govt freezes 833 MBG kitchens over violations

Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has suspended 833 kitchens serving the Free Nutritious Meals program over food safety, hygiene and other ...

en.antaranews.com

"Indonesia has a total of 29,225 operational Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) kitchens, officially known as Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). Out of this nationwide count, around 13,576 kitchens have secured formal hygiene and sanitation certification, and 7,500 units have attained halal certification"

 

[pantaiema]

When you have to close 833 MBG kitchen it shows a problem exist, but it is still less than 3% of the total.

Indonesian govt freezes 833 MBG kitchens over violations

Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has suspended 833 kitchens serving the Free Nutritious Meals program over food safety, hygiene and other ...

en.antaranews.com

"Indonesia has a total of 29,225 operational Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) kitchens, officially known as Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). Out of this nationwide count, around 13,576 kitchens have secured formal hygiene and sanitation certification, and 7,500 units have attained halal certification"

Oh yes, certified as 'Makanan Babi Gratis (MBG)'. Certified to be consumed as free meals for pigs.

 

[Balifrog]

There seem to be the intention to improve the system, but is a mammoth task...

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesias-free-meals-program-overhaul-continues-with-137-dismissals

 

[pantaiema]

Another victim of Free Meals for School Children (MBG). Small business, suppliers
Indonesia’s school meal scheme traps investors in debt

Keep in mind that many of those who win government contracts to provide meals through the SPPG kitchens are not necessarily the ones actually involved in preparing or serving the food. Their main role is to secure the SPPG contract and then outsource the actual work to others.

They receive the government funding, take their cut, and pass the remainder to the actual SPPGs kitchens, which are often small businesses. In Indonesia, this kind of arrangement is commonly referred to as 'uang lewat' essentially, money passing through an intermediary who takes a share without being directly involved in the work.

Those who allegedly obtain these contracts through collusion, corruption, or nepotism often face very little risk. If government funding is suspended or stops flowing, they can simply stop paying the small businesses they subcontracted. Meanwhile, the financial consequences are pushed down the chain onto the actual kitchen operators and other small businesses.

And the chain does not end there. Even smaller businesses, such as fruit and vegetable suppliers, are also dependent on these payments and can be affected when the money stops flowing.

Despite all the problems the MBG program has encountered, someone is still claiming that the program is 99.9% successful.

Presiden Prabowo Program MBG Berhasil 99,9%!

Presiden Prabowo Subianto mengungkapkan, program Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) secara statistik 99,99 persen berhasil. Prabowo mengakui, program MBG memang masi...

www.youtube.com

Prabowo remains proud of the MBG and Kopdes programs in his state address, despite being bombarded with criticism.

 

[pantaiema]

Also the Indonesian constitutional court has ruled that using Education Budget for MBG is illegal as it is not the main educational component.

Constitutional Court Urged to Prohibit Government from Using Education Budget for MBG

Considered to narrow the space for education financing, the Constitutional Court is urged to annul the provisions in the State Budget Law that allow the education budget to finance the MBG program.

www.kompas.id

 

[jstar]

the program is 99.9% successful.

Not so much to do with the topic, but the Indonesian(s) officials love to work with numbers. Which have practically no meaning and are created by huge spreadsheets and thousands of uncontrollable inputs and forms.

A nice example is the reporting on the progress of infrastructure. During a visit of the vice president they stated that the MRT project was 49,94% finished

According to sources that could have to do with wanting to provide legitimacy, counter skepticism and -according to themselves- simplify complex national data into objective (sounding) facts.

 

[pantaiema]

Yet another mass food poisoning incident has occurred, affecting 566 students. Rather than top program officials stepping down and accepting full responsibility, the only action being taken is a proposal to dismiss the Head of the SPPG (e.g the owner of the regional kitchen). No shame, no responsibility.

566 Santri di Sidoarjo Keracunan MBG, BGN Usul Pecat Kepala SPPG

Badan Gizi Nasional mengusulkan untuk memecat kepala SPPG Kalitengah. Sanksi suspensi 30 hari pada SPPG juga telah dilakukan.

www.detik.com

566 Students in Sidoarjo Suffer from MBG Poisoning, BGN Proposes Dismissal of Head of SPPG.

 

[Balifrog]

Yet another mass food poisoning incident has occurred, affecting 566 students. Rather than top program officials stepping down and accepting full responsibility, the only action being taken is a proposal to dismiss the Head of the SPPG (e.g the owner of the regional kitchen). No shame, no responsibility.

566 Santri di Sidoarjo Keracunan MBG, BGN Usul Pecat Kepala SPPG

Badan Gizi Nasional mengusulkan untuk memecat kepala SPPG Kalitengah. Sanksi suspensi 30 hari pada SPPG juga telah dilakukan.

www.detik.com

566 Students in Sidoarjo Suffer from MBG Poisoning, BGN Proposes Dismissal of Head of SPPG.

There are 29.000 MBG kitchens... it is sure to have some bad apples among them.

Controlling 29.000 subcontractors ?
Difficult, should be organized by regions and subregions with a responsible for each area.
But even then, say 1 supervisor for 50 kitchens, that's 580 supervisors. Dont expect all of them to be perfect ....

 

[pantaiema]

Apart from recent case post #93. affecting 566 'santri' students student at a traditional Islamic boarding school. This is another food poisoning incident. At least 1,700 students and teachers in a number of areas are suspected of being poisoned after consuming food provided by the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program in three days.

'Kegagalan Sistem': Lebih dari 1.700 Orang Diduga Keracunan MBG dalam Tiga Hari

Setidaknya 1.700 siswa diduga keracunan makanan program Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) pada pekan ini. Anggota DPR RI Komisi IX, Charles Honoris, mengatakan sejumlah kasus keracunan terbaru ini menunjukkan adanya persoalan besar dalam pelaksanaan program MBG.

www.abc.net.au

"Juhartutik said the students were given grilled chicken, but before it was distributed, food tasters found some of the "slimy' chicken (berlendir)."


43,838 Victims of Alleged MBG Poisoning, JPPI: This Has Become a National Alarm

National Emergency! In Just 3 Days, Thousands of Students Collapsed Due to MBG Poisoning.

Given that thousands of meals are prepared, the staff preparing/packing them were likely aware of the 'slimy chicken.', stale non consumable fruits, prawn, meat, fried rice, etc. However, they probably served it anyway to avoid the massive financial loss of replacing every meal, gambling that it wouldn't cause harm. This is not an isolated incident as maggots have also been discovered on food in the past. Also remember the occasion like this could become a trauma for children every time they are eating their meals.

In a country plagued by systemic corruption, these repeated safety failures should have been recognised long before the launching of this multi trillions national program, knowing that everyone in the system at every level will be in the race to take their cuts.

 

[snpark]

Just last year alone almost 500 people died in plane crashes.

Just last year alone almost 100,000 people every DAY did not die in a plane crash

 

[pantaiema]

See the reaction, of the people who are responsible for this mass food poisoning. So easy going, they do not even talk about resigning and compensation to the victims.

 

[harryopal1]

See the reaction, of the people who are responsible for this mass food poisoning. So easy going, they do not even talk about resigning and compensation to the victims.

For those of us whose command of Bahasa Indonesia is scratchy it would be helpful to get a summary in English of these frequent videos posted. However, if I am not mistaken one gentleman early in the piece referred to mass emotionalism. He might have added, as these are all poor families, even if they were given monetary compensation they would not know how to use it wisely. Unlike those from wealthy families who know how to buy designer handbags and luxury cars.

 

[pantaiema]

For those of us whose command of Bahasa Indonesia is scratchy it would be helpful to get a summary in English of these frequent videos posted. However, if I am not mistaken one gentleman early in the piece referred to mass emotionalism. He might have added, as these are all poor families, even if they were given monetary compensation they would not know how to use it wisely. Unlike those from wealthy families who know how to buy designer handbags and luxury cars.

The topic of compensation is brought up around by Charles Honoris (Mark 01:50), the Deputy Chair of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR RI). He firmly states that the victims of the mass food poisoning from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program must receive compensation for their losses.

He emphasises that, the Parents of the affected students have every right to sue the food providers (SPPGs) and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for the damages caused. The compensation should not only cover the direct health and medical issues but also the emotional distress and trauma experienced by the children and their families. He then urges the government to strongly consider a clear compensation scheme for the victims' families if similar incidents happen in the future.

While I didn't see any explicit references to compensation for poor versus wealthy families, the reality is that the students consuming MBG meals come overwhelmingly from disadvantaged backgrounds. School children from a wealthy background such as in Jakarta’s elite private schools simply don't eat them.

As I’ve noted before, many figures within Prabowo’s Gerindra party and his governing coalition are turning this program into a private money making machines. By securing concessions for thousands of SPPGs (MBG kitchen), they take a cut of the funds (uang lewat) and simply outsource the work to third parties, profiting with zero risk or personal liability.

There are similar program running parallel with this MBG the so called 'Koperasi Desa Merah Putih (KDMP)'. There are already alot of news about this KDMP. Rooted in the principles of gotong royong (mutual cooperation) and kinship (kekeluargaan). The program is designed to drive rural development and act as a pillar for economic resilience, sounds convincing. There are around Rp240T funding is allocate. There are already a barrage of critics, and they run the same project during the new order and ended up badly once the funding was stopped. But let see how this new program will end up.

The 240-trillion gamble that is Koperasi Merah Putih

If Prabowo’s top-down village cooperative fails, it is the villagers who bear the costs In late February, white Mahindra Scorpio pickup trucks began arriving at the port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, the words Koperasi Desa Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperative, hereafter ‘KMP’) stickered ac

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