Commission IX of the DPR reminds the new leadership of BGN not to play with the attitude of the transactional issue of opening the SPPG

Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives Asep Romy Romaya responded positively to the sudden reshuffling of the leadership of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). He reminded the new leadership of BGN not to play around with the transactional issue of opening the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) or the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) public kitchen.

President Prabowo Subianto appointed Nanik S. Deyang as the Head of BGN to replace Dadan Hindayana who was arrested by the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung). Dadan's arrest then uncovered various scandals in the BGN body, ranging from alleged corruption in the procurement of goods and services, to the practice of buying and selling permits to open SPPG.

Asep emphasized that the DPR regretted the alleged abuse of authority and poor governance carried out by the previous BGN leadership. He hopes that the new BGN leadership can work better and more transparent.

"We assess that this is very damaging to the spirit of the MBG program which was built for the benefit of the people. Don't let anyone use this program for personal or group interests," Asep Romy told reporters, Thursday, June 4.

The PKB legislator from the West Java District also urged the new leadership of BGN to immediately carry out a total cleansing. He assessed that the old system was not transparent, especially after BGN unilaterally closed the partnership portal, which caused huge losses for the community and created a loophole for MBG kitchen permit brokers.

Asep Romy demands that the verification process for SPPG in the future be carried out openly and professionally in order to eliminate the practice of illegal levies. He also warned the new leadership not to play with this transactional issue because it risked the credibility of the head of state's priority program.

"The process of verification and opening SPPG must be carried out openly and professionally. There should be no room for bargaining practices, illegal levies, or transactions that are not in accordance with regulations. The new BGN leadership is asked not to play around with the transactional issue of opening SPPG," he said.

Asep Rony said that Commission IX of the DPR appreciated President Prabowo's quick steps to immediately evaluate the leadership of BGN. According to him, this step sends a strong message that national strategic programs worth hundreds of trillions of rupiah must be managed cleanly, professionally, and oriented fully towards the people.

Asep Romy hopes that this momentum will be used to fix the logistics distribution system to the lagging, leading, and outermost regions (3T). BGN is also asked to prioritize nutritional supplies for three vulnerable groups, namely pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers, to reduce stunting rates in Indonesia.

"We also remind BGN to tighten food safety supervision in order to prevent the recurrence of mass poisoning cases in the region. The management of SPPG is obliged to implement strict operational standards ranging from market surveys, procurement of raw materials, to the presentation of food that is in accordance with the Ministry of Health's Nutritional Adequacy Index (AKG)," he concluded.