Students eating lunch on the first day of a free nutritious meal programme at SMA 11 state senior high school in East Jakarta on Jan 6, 2025. - AFP
JAKARTA: The House of Representatives has urged caution as the Defence Ministry moves to distribute 4.8 million doses of multivitamins produced by the Indonesian Military (TNI) through the government’s free nutritious meal programme, amid widespread food safety concerns surrounding the initiative.
Nurhadi, a lawmaker from House Commission IX, which oversees health and social security, emphasised that the distribution must be conducted under the strict supervision of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and the Health Ministry.
“Distributing the multivitamins isn’t merely a logistical task; it’s a matter of public safety. Every product that reaches the public must go through rigorous testing, oversight and certification to ensure it poses no health risks,” he said on Tuesday (Oct 7).
“Without proper coordination with the Health Ministry and the BPOM, the well-intentioned efforts could result in serious problems on the ground,” added the Nasdem politician.
Nurhadi called on the Defence Ministry to ensure full transparency and accountability throughout the initiative by openly sharing beneficiary data, enhancing on-the-ground monitoring and ensuring that the distribution of multivitamins is overseen by qualified authorities.
“We must learn from past cases where similar programmes resulted in fund misuse and even health problems caused by non-certified products,” Nurhadi explained.
On Oct 1, the Defense Ministry distributed 4.8 million doses of a multivitamin called Vitarma, produced by the Defence Ministry Pharmaceutical Center (Pusfarhan), to around 100 free meal kitchens across Jakarta.
The supplements are intended for students and pregnant women who are beneficiaries of the government’s free meals programme.
In addition to vitamins, the ministry also distributed 17.4 million pills produced by Pusfarhan to cooperatives across the country.
The initiative comes amid growing public concern over the safety of the free meals program, which has been plagued by numerous food poisoning cases since its launch in January.
As of Oct 4, education watchdog Network for Education Watch Indonesia (JPPI) reported that approximately 10,480 children had experienced food poisoning linked to the free meals programme.
Meanwhile, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) recorded over 6,450 cases as of September. In addition to widespread food poisoning, students have also reported discovering maggots and caterpillars and even shards of glass in the government packaged meals.
The programme also faced mounting criticism after it was revealed that some kitchens were serving extremely small portions, far below what would be expected from the Rp 10,000 (64 US cents) per meal budget.
Other meals reportedly included ultra-processed and sugary drinks, raising further concerns about nutritional quality.
Defence Ministry spokesperson Brig Gen Frega Wenas Inkiriwang assured the public that the multivitamins distributed to the government’s free meal kitchens have been certified and approved by the BPOM.
“The pharmaceutical production facilities under Pusfarhan comply with good manufacturing practices and hold a distribution permit issued by the BPOM,” he said on Wednesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
In addition to concerns over food safety, Commission IX's Nurhadi also warned that the multivitamin distribution could result in overlapping responsibilities between the TNI and existing civilian institutions.
“Cross-ministerial coordination is essential to prevent this overlap and more importantly, to avoid any shift of public health responsibilities from civilian authorities to the military,” he said.
Since taking office last year, President Prabowo Subianto, a retired Army general, has moved to expand the role of the TNI in several public programmes, including his flagship free meals initiative.
TNI personnel have been deployed to assist in converting idle land into rice fields and to support sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and livestock, as part of the administration’s broader push for national food security.
The President has also appointed both active and retired TNI officers to key positions within government agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Earlier this year, he backed a revision to the TNI Law, which extended the mandatory retirement age for military personnel and broadened the scope of civilian roles they are permitted to hold. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
