BGN Chief Apologizes to Ex-Minister Mahfud Md After Grandchildren Fall Ill from MBG Meals

October 1, 2025 | 07:55 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Body (BGN) Dadan Hindayana has issued an apology to former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud Md, after two of Mahfud’s grandchildren were suspected of being poisoned by meals from the government’s Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program in Yogyakarta.

“We sincerely apologize for this. The reason we are holding this meeting today is also to strengthen governance of the program,” Dadan said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Dadan had just attended a working session with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR), which oversees health and population affairs.

The meeting, also joined by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) Chief Taruna Ikrar, focused on the recent surge in MBG-related poisoning cases.

According to BGN data, a total of 6,517 MBG recipients reported poisoning incidents from January to September 30, 2025, with a sharp rise in the past two months. Cases were mapped across three regions: Region I covering Sumatra, Region II in Java, and Region III in Eastern Indonesia.

Mahfud earlier revealed in a video on his official YouTube channel that two of his grandchildren had fallen ill after consuming the free meals at their school. One of them was hospitalized for four days.

He recounted that on the afternoon after eating MBG meals, eight students, including his grandchildren, began vomiting and were rushed to the hospital. Seven of them, including his older grandchild, were discharged after a day of treatment, while the younger child required four days of hospitalization.

Mahfud stressed that the issue should not be reduced to statistics.

“This is not about numbers. This is about life and health, and it needs to be thoroughly investigated,” he said, pointing out that although poisoning cases accounted for less than 0.1 percent of all MBG beneficiaries, they remain a serious concern.

Daniel Ahmad Fajri contributed to the writing of this article.

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