Tanjungpinang – A letter signed by a school principle agreeing to keep quiet about food poisoning incidents in the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program has gone viral on social media.
Humam Mukti, the principal of the Seri Kuala Lobam State Primary School (SDN) 006 in Bintan regency, Riau Islands, has confirmed signing a letter of agreement to this effect between the Nutrition Fulfilment Services Unit (SPPG) and the beneficiaries of the MBG.
He said the letter, which has gone viral on social media, was signed on August 19, 2025, before the MBG were distributed to the Seri Kuala Lobam SDN 006.
Several points in the letter stated that if an extraordinary event occurred, such as poisoning, incomplete food packages or other conditions that could interfere with the smooth implementation of this program, the second party was committed to maintaining the confidentiality of information until the first party found the best solution to solve the problem.
In addition to this, if there is damage and or loss of cutlery (eating trays or lids) the second party is required to replace or pay for one package of eating implements (at 80,000 rupiah per item) according to the amount of damage or loss.
"As the principal I signed it, later if the letter of agreement wasn't signed it would be considered a rejection of the MBG program", he told CNN Indonesia when contacted on Saturday September 27.
He admitted that in the implementation of the MBG program there have been many complaints from parents. These include refusing to have their children receive MBG because their children have complained of stomach pains or vomiting, rejecting paying compensation if the MBG utensils are damaged, and complaints over the late distribution of MBG to beneficiaries at his school.
According to Mukti, despite there being problems, they can be overcome by the school.
"There have been many problems, starting from students' parents, they don't want their children to be given MBG, refusing to pay compensation for damaged utensils and the distribution is slow, to the point that school kids have already gone home then the food arrives", he said.
At the Seri Kuala Lobam SDN 006, there are 310 students registered as beneficiaries of the MBG program.
CNN Indonesia has tried to confirm the letter of agreement with the head of the SPPG in Seri Kuala Lobam sub-district, Gilang Restu Aji. As of Saturday however, the party concerned has not provided any information related to the circulation of the agreement.
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) however has responded to the viral issue related to the letter of agreement to keep cases of MBG poisoning confidential. Earlier, a photo containing a similar agreement written by the SPPG in Kalasan, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, also went viral on social media.
"We have already said that this is something that has not been confirmed yet, so it's better for it to be discussed internally, but if it's confirmed, the BGN has never [tried to] cover it up", said BGN head Dadan Hindayana at a press conference at the BGN offices in Central Jakarta on Monday September 22.
"There's nothing in it for us to cover up information. We are doing it like that (the issue of letters keeping MBG poisoning confidential) as a benchmark, so there is no secrecy in this program", he added.
Based on data from the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), some 5,360 children have suffered food poisoning from the MBG program as of September 2025. The poisoning cases occurred after eating the free nutritious food. (arp/sfr)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Cerita Kepala Sekolah Diminta Teken Surat Rahasiakan Keracunan MBG".]
