The head of law, human rights, and wisdom at the central leadership\nof Muhammadiyah, Busyro Muqoddas, has stated that the free nutritious\nmeal programme (MBG) lacks transparency and operates in an undemocratic\nmanner. He argued that the government increasingly insists on\nimplementing its programme unilaterally, with poor bureaucracy and no\npublic openness or participation.<\/p>\n
According to Busyro, such conduct is not new, having begun during\nPresident Joko Widodo\u2019s tenure and been significantly intensified by\nPresident Prabowo Subianto. \u201cThis MBG programme cannot be separated from\nthe political culture we are experiencing, which has become increasingly\nanti-democratic, anti-criticism, and anti-human rights,\u201d he said during\nan online press conference by the Coalition to Save Indonesian Education\n(Kospi) at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBH) office in Central\nJakarta on Monday, 9 March 2026.<\/p>\n
Busyro emphasised that not only the MBG programme, but also other\nprogrammes such as red-and-white village cooperatives and the\nestablishment of Danantara have been implemented in a closed manner.<\/p>\n
The former Anti-Corruption Commission commissioner noted that the MBG\nproject budget is very large. With such a substantial budget, he argued,\nthere is no transparency regarding procurement or the selection of\npartners.<\/p>\n
According to Busyro, the Anti-Corruption Commission should actively\noversee the free nutritious meal programme. However, he assessed that\nthe commission is now paralysed after being weakened by Jokowi and House\nSpeaker Puan Maharani. Consequently, the sole recourse is through a\nconstitutional review at the Constitutional Court by civil society. \u201cI\nhope that this constitutional review will be properly amplified,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Busyro, alongside MBG Watch and Celios, will file a constitutional\nchallenge against the free nutritious meal programme at the\nConstitutional Court on 10 March 2026.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Coalition to Save Indonesian Education (Kospi) has\nlaunched a constitutional complaint channel for teachers to collect\ncomplaints from educators affected by the free nutritious meal\nprogramme.<\/p>\n
Eva Nurcahyani, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW),\nstated that this teacher complaint channel was created after the\ngovernment reduced the education budget for the MBG programme through\nthe 2026 State Budget Law. \u201cBy creating this complaint channel, first we\nwant to monitor how the continuity of a good and proper national\neducation system is maintained, so that it is distributed across all\nregions and is clear,\u201d Eva said.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the complaints ensure teacher welfare and help improve\nlearning quality. Eva explained that the channel can be accessed through\nthe link bit.ly\/pengaduankonstitusionalguru. All teachers and education\nstaff at various levels of education affected by government policies can\naccess this channel. Moreover, teachers with experience or information\nabout the impact of education budget policies can also fill in\ncomplaints through this channel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis data will be used for documenting the actual conditions\nexperienced by teachers in the field, as material for education policy\nadvocacy, and to strengthen social evidence in the subsequent\nConstitutional Court review process,\u201d Eva said.<\/p>\n
All information, Eva stated, will be used responsibly to ensure that\neducation policy remains supportive of educational quality and educator\nwelfare.<\/p>\n
The coalition also guarantees that teacher complainant data will only\nbe used for advocacy purposes and ensures the confidentiality of teacher\ninformation. This is done as part of protecting and minimising risk for\ncomplainants.<\/p>\n
As one measure of transparency, BGN (the nutritious meal body)\nrequires MBG kitchens to upload the menus they serve to social media.\nNot only menus, but also nutritional content and prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf required to upload to social media, at least there is a shame\neffect. On each package there must also be nutritional information and\nprice, this is a form of transparency and public accountability,\u201d said\nBGN Deputy Chief Sony Sanjaya, as reported by Antara on Friday, 6 March\n2026.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/busyro-muqoddas-free-nutritious-meal-programme-lacks-transparency-and-democracy-1773108743", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }