Indonesia's Prabowo fires head of free meals scheme plagued by poisonings

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has fired the head of the agency responsible for his flagship free meals programme, which has been plagued by mass food poisonings and corruption allegations.

The multi-billion-dollar scheme, a centrepiece of Prabowo's 2024 presidential campaign, aims to offer free meals to 80 million school children.

But tens of thousands of children across the country have fallen ill since the programme was launched in January last year, leading to calls for it to be suspended.

The sacking of Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist, comes a week after Indonesia's corruption watchdog filed a complaint alleging inconsistencies in budgeting across kitchens.

Prabowo himself has come under fire over the programme, especially for its hefty price tag at a time when Indonesia is grappling with dwindling trade surpluses and a weak currency.

The programme was recently scaled back – from six days a week to five – as authorities sought to mitigate the financial impact of the US' and Israel's war in Iran.

Some critics have called for the programme to be suspended altogether.

Early on Wednesday, officials from the Attorney General's Office raided the premises of the National Nutrition Agency in charge of the free meals programme. Staff were blocked from entering the building.