Cibinong, West Java. President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday said his decision to dismiss Dadan Hindayana as head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) was not an easy one, describing the move as necessary to safeguard the integrity of the government’s flagship free nutritious meals program.

Speaking before thousands of program partners in Cibinong, West Java, Prabowo said he had maintained a close professional relationship with Dadan and had previously honored him for his work.

“I said this was difficult for me when I signed the dismissal letter. This was someone I personally appointed, someone to whom I gave a state honor and rank,” Prabowo said.

Later that evening, Dadan and two other former BGN senior officials -- Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sanjaya -- were detained by the Attorney General’s Office on corruption allegations.

Dadan had previously received the Bintang Jasa Utama, one of Indonesia’s state service honors, from Prabowo on Feb. 13 in recognition of his role in accelerating the implementation of the free nutritious meals program.

Prabowo said that in recent weeks, he had received multiple reports pointing to shortcomings, irregularities, and indications of misconduct within BGN, which is responsible for overseeing the nationwide meals initiative.

To verify the reports, the president said he ordered reviews and investigations involving several state institutions, including the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

According to Prabowo, those steps were necessary because the free nutritious meals program is critically important to millions of Indonesians, particularly in improving nutrition for future generations.

The president reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the integrity and success of the program, stressing that there would be no tolerance for abuse of trust or misconduct in its implementation going forward.

The free nutritious meals initiative has been one of Prabowo’s signature policy programs since his 2024 presidential campaign, with the government presenting it as a central strategy to combat chronic child stunting and improve Indonesia’s long-term human capital development.