Budget for Free Nutritious Meal Programme and Merah Putih Village Cooperative Will Not Be Cut

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi has stated that the government will not reduce budgets for the Free Nutritious Meal Programme (MBG) and the Merah Putih Village Cooperative amid plans to trim overall spending. The budget trimming aims to maintain the State Budget (APBN) at no more than 3 percent deficit in light of the global situation.

Prasetyo, spokesperson for President Prabowo Subianto, said the budget cuts would prioritise reducing unproductive expenditure. “Spending that we consider less productive or less impactful,” he said at the Defence Ministry office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

Prasetyo initially explained that fiscal deficit calculations are conducted on an annual basis. Before the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States, the government has been continuously reviewing spending items from the previous year.

“We continue to make efforts to scrutinise activities and budget items as we did last year,” he said.

From this review, the government seeks to tighten budgets for unproductive spending such as overseas travel. The government is also cutting budget items that are not urgent, such as building construction that has not had a direct impact on ministry performance.

The government is currently still scouring budgets for unproductive spending. This savings drive is due to the impact of the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Indonesia has set a maximum budget deficit cap of 3 percent of GDP since the early 2000s, following the Asian financial crisis. This provision has been claimed as one of the pillars of fiscal discipline watched closely by investors.