politics
Indonesian Free Meals Programme Under New Leadership After Corruption Probe Reaches Police and Military
South China Morning Post reported that prosecutors named a police brigadier general as the seventh suspect in a governance inquiry into President Prabowo Subianto’s US$15 billion free meals programme. They also referred a case involving an active-duty military officer to a joint civilian-military investigation.
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South China Morning Post reported that a corruption investigation into Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s free meals programme has widened to include police and military officers. On 2 July 2026 the Attorney General’s Office named Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan, a police brigadier general serving as deputy secretary for promotion and cooperation at the National Nutrition Agency, as the seventh suspect.
Prosecutors found alleged involvement of an active-duty military officer in an unlawful procurement of electric motorcycles for the programme.
The Attorney General’s Office referred that case to the military crimes unit for a joint civilian-military investigation. The programme is budgeted at US$15 billion and aims to provide daily free meals to more than 80 million students and mothers across Indonesia. It has been under new leadership and under review since corruption allegations first emerged last month.
South China Morning Post reported that the programme’s rushed roll-out has led to cases of food poisoning and that its spending allocation has added to budget strains. Indonesian police arrested a student following clashes during a protest against several issues, including the free meals programme, in Surabaya on 26 June 2026.
Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan served as the National Nutrition Agency’s head of legal affairs and public relations from December 2024 to March 2025, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
