TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) floated the proposal to bring free nutritious meals to Indonesian students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to former chief Dadan Hindayana. According to Dadan, the idea originated from his visit to the Indonesian School in Jeddah during his return trip to Indonesia.
At that time, the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah invited him to visit the school and met with the students and teachers.
"I was about to return to the homeland, and my flight was from Jeddah," said Dadan Hindayana when contacted on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
During the meeting, Dadan mentioned that the students and teachers expressed their interest in the state-sanctioned free nutritious meal program, stating that they hope a similar program could also be enjoyed by Indonesian students studying in Jeddah.
This was the starting point for the proposal to extend the MBG services to Indonesian schools abroad, Dadan said. Despite this, he emphasized that the proposal must be discussed with Prabowo before any decisions could be made.
"They are aware and expressed interest in the MBG program. I told them that I will report to the President first," said Dadan, while admitting that he could not confirm whether Prabowo would approve of the idea.
"If there is an opportunity (to meet the president, it will be conveyed)," said Dadan.
In his interview video with Indonesian news agency Kompas, Dadan mentioned that there are at least 1,080 children of migrant workers studying at the special Indonesian-Jeddah school. Another school in Mecca also houses about 400 Indonesian students.
If this plan is approved by the president, Saudi would become the first country to receive the free nutritious meal, but Dadan said he could not explain the mechanism before talking it over with Prabowo.
Meanwhile, today, Dadan Hindayana has been removed from his position as the BGN chief and replaced by former deputy chief Nanik S. Deyang. The decision came after 1.5 years of monitoring and evaluation process of the nutrition agency.
Read: Prabowo Orders Rp67 Trillion Cut to MBG Budget
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