BGN Explains Why TNI and Polri Were Immediately Allocated 1,000 SPPG Units at the Start of the MBG Programme
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has explained the reasons for mobilising the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) at the start of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. Deputy Head of BGN for Operational Nutrition Fulfilment, Sony Sonjaya, stated during the one-year MBG programme event for community empowerment in Jakarta on Thursday (16/4/2026) that at the beginning of the MBG programme, BGN could not immediately build Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) using the public procurement of goods and services scheme.
He assessed that Polri, TNI, and Kadin were selected because these institutions already have strong forces across Indonesia that can strengthen community empowerment. This is because, at the start of the MBG programme, President Prabowo Subianto ordered acceleration.
“In 2025, we were not certain whether this programme would truly be supported by the public or not, or how those involved in its implementation would perform, so it was planned to be built using the APBN 1.542 (SPPG), namely in 514 regencies/cities, with three per regency/city. What was ordered (to build SPPG for acceleration) was Polri 1,000, TNI 1,000, Kadin 1,000, that was the directive at the time,” Sony said.
According to him, with this scheme, the government can accelerate the process because it is impossible to build all SPPG using the goods and services procurement process, which would certainly take a considerable amount of time. Sony explained that the initial plan for the MBG programme target in 2025 was to build 5,000 SPPG to serve approximately 15 million beneficiaries.
“Therefore, if now (someone asks) ‘Why does Polri get 1,000? Why TNI 1,000?’ That’s the story. So, if now people come and ask ‘Why Polri 1,000? TNI 1,000?’ Don’t blame them, because at that time, there was a need for acceleration, so they were appointed,” he said.
The Head of the BGN Verification Team also stated that MBG is targeted to be one of the programmes that can produce a multiplier effect for community economic empowerment at the local level. Therefore, the acceleration of SPPG construction becomes one of the important aspects to achieve that target.
“That’s community empowerment, this is the government’s cleverness, because if 26,663 SPPG were built using the goods and services procurement process (PBJ), how many working groups (pokja) would need to be established? How many days would the PBJ process take to determine one service winner? Alhamdulillah, with this mechanism, 26,663 have already been built, and last night I saw that more than 27,000 have been built,” he explained.