Bobby Ready to Forward Public Petition Supporting Free Nutritious Meals Programme to President
Medan (ANTARA) - Governor of North Sumatra Bobby Nasution will forward a public petition supporting the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme to President Prabowo Subianto.
“This petition letter is addressed directly to the President of the Republic of Indonesia,” Bobby said after receiving representatives from the Community Institution for Free Nutritious Meals (LMP MBG) at the Governor’s Office in Medan on Friday.
Bobby expressed appreciation for the community members who voiced the importance of the programme’s sustainability. He noted that the benefits of the MBG programme have already been felt by children and parents across various regions in North Sumatra.
He acknowledged that the programme still requires improvements and refinements in its implementation. However, he stressed that any evaluation must not sacrifice the nutritional needs of children who have already been receiving its benefits.
“We all agree, both those present here and those who are not. If improvements and refinements are needed, that is correct. But do not sacrifice the needs of children who have already felt the benefits all this time,” Bobby stated.
According to him, the benefits of the MBG programme have also become a consideration for parents when choosing schools for their children. “Currently, the new student admission period is underway, and one of the indicators parents look at is whether the school has received the MBG programme,” he said.
Bobby also called on all parties, from community elements to the North Sumatra Regional Police and the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Command, to jointly oversee the implementation of the MBG programme to ensure it is more targeted.
“All of us in North Sumatra, both beneficiary communities and the regional government, share the same hope that the programme to fulfil children’s nutrition will run even better in the future,” he said.
Earlier, Bobby met with the LMP MBG crowd who held a peaceful demonstration in front of the North Sumatra Governor’s Office on Jalan Pangeran Diponegoro, Medan. LMP MBG Secretary Said Siregar stated that they are asking the government to ensure the MBG programme continues in order to support the creation of a healthy and intelligent generation.
“We are asking for this nutritious meal programme to be continued, not stopped. If the issue lies in its implementation, then it is the management that must be improved, not the programme itself. This programme is very beneficial for our children,” Said said.
In the petition, LMP MBG put forward five demands: ensuring the MBG programme continues to run, improving food safety standards and distribution mechanisms, resolving field obstacles without suspending beneficiaries’ rights, strengthening the involvement of various community elements in programme oversight, and requesting that the North Sumatra Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) also oversee and forward these aspirations to the central government.