JAKARTA: Indonesia's Attorney General's Office has arrested two more individuals in connection with alleged corruption within the government's free nutritious meal programme, bringing the total number of suspects to five. The expansion of the investigation signals intensifying scrutiny of what was intended as a major public health initiative.

Among those detained is Andri Mulyono, a commissioner at logistics firm PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal. Investigators allege he artificially inflated prices for approximately 21,000 electric motorcycles supplied to meal programme kitchens across the nation, manipulating figures to exhaust the National Nutrition Agency's Rp 1.03 trillion (US$58.2 million) procurement allocation. According to Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, investigation director at the Office of Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes, Andri obtained unlawful financial benefits through these fabricated transactions.

A second businessman, Asep Yusuf Somantri, was separately arrested on allegations of exploiting his connection to former agency deputy Sony Sonjaya to interfere with partner verification procedures. The investigation suggests Asep leveraged this relationship to influence kitchen registrations and approve applications beyond the official registration window.

These arrests follow the detention on June 3 of three former National Nutrition Agency leaders: head Dadan Hindayana and deputies Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung, all fired by President Prabowo Subianto. Authorities are preparing to re-interview Sony regarding his petition for justice collaborator status, which could implicate approximately 20 additional individuals.

The scheme, launched in early 2025 to combat malnutrition among over 80 million schoolchildren and pregnant women, has encountered multiple crises. Beyond the corruption allegations, the programme has been linked to at least 33,000 reported mass food-poisoning incidents. Public discontent culminated in Friday's student-led protest #MenujuIndonesiaBangkrut, criticising the initiative as a misplaced governmental priority during economic challenges. Government Communications Agency head Muhammad Qodari responded Saturday by reaffirming the programme's continuation, characterising operational difficulties as inevitable while pledging to address identified problems.