JAKARTA: Disgraced former deputy chief of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Sony Sonjaya has offered to cooperate with law enforcement as a justice collaborator and expose “powerful names” allegedly tied to corruption in the free meals programme, fueling intensified calls for a comprehensive audit of the multitrillion-rupiah programme.
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) launched a probe last week into the agency responsible for the rollout of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme and arrested Sony, former fellow deputy head Lodewyk Pusung and agency chief Dadan Hindayana as suspects hours after they were removed by the President.
Investigators say the three former officials approved ineligible foundations linked to agency insiders to run kitchens for the programme through rigged selection processes and marked up the cost to procure unnecessary equipment, including electric motorcycles.
Through his lawyer Khrisna Murti, Sony, a former two-star police general, filed the application to be a justice collaborator with the AGO on Monday (June 8) and promised to give them the identities of “prominent figures”, who allegedly played a larger role in the case
"We are not trying to avoid legal responsibility. Our client has chosen to be cooperative and help reveal who was involved in the flagship government programme,” Khrisna said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
The lawyer said that Sony was not the mastermind behind the alleged dubious licensing of kitchens, claiming instead that Sony was acting “under pressure” from these “powerful figures”.
According to Khrisna, Sony has already provided investigators with the names of more than 20 individuals allegedly involved in the corruption scheme during his previous interrogations, but not yet the principal perpetrators.
The growing scandal surrounding the management of the free meals programme prompted anticorruption activist Boyamin Saiman to call for a comprehensive audit, citing concerns that other public officials and politically connected figures might have been involved in operating some of the kitchens.
He said he found indications of potential conflicts of interest in the management of some of the kitchens, which were either owned by or affiliated with senior government officials and sitting lawmakers.
This, he said, raised questions about oversight and accountability in the programme
Boyamin urged the AGO and BGN to investigate the matter, arguing that the situation, if proven to be true, would represent a serious breach, as those responsible for overseeing and supervising the programme should not be involved in its execution and should not personally benefit from it
“They are not allowed to own kitchens [under the programme]. This can actually be considered collusion and nepotism,” Boyamin told The Jakarta Post, adding that “an audit must be carried out and there should be a moratorium on kitchens found to have affiliations with public officials or lawmakers.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups under the banner Free Nutritious Meals Watch has called on the government to temporarily suspend the programme, while conducting a transparent audit into its budget use, programme rollout and decision-making process.
“Without structural reforms, the arrest and leadership change will merely continue the cycle of programme failure and systematic corruption,” the coalition said in a statement.
BGN’s new head Nanik Sudaryati Deyang said on Monday that the agency would temporarily halt approvals for new kitchens and refocus the programme to ensure support is directed to vulnerable groups and low-income families
Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) investigation director Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi said last week that his office has not ruled out naming additional suspects. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
