Deputy Industry Minister: Free Nutritious Meals a Noble Initiative, Governance Reform a Crucial Step

Deputy Minister of Industry Faisol Riza has stated that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme is a noble and important initiative, while emphasising that efforts to improve its governance are a crucial step. Speaking on the Hendri Satrio Official YouTube podcast, Faisol argued that from a philosophical and values-based perspective, including religious foundations, the programme has a strong basis regarding the state’s obligation to vulnerable groups such as the poor, women, and children. However, he noted that the criticism directed at the programme has not been about its objectives, but rather about management aspects such as governance, implementation processes, and quality verification. Faisol said he believes even critics likely feel that the MBG programme is not fundamentally wrong, but that the issues observed have been related to its management, processes, verification, and quality. He therefore welcomed the evaluation steps currently being undertaken by the government. According to Faisol, President Prabowo Subianto has tasked the newly appointed Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, with carrying out a thorough overhaul, including evaluating the fiscal burden on the state resulting from the programme’s implementation. He stressed that while the MBG programme will certainly be evaluated, there is little debate that it is a very important programme. Faisol also emphasised that adjustments to the MBG menu are important, recalling past consumption habits and current changes in nutritional needs, and stressed that the menu variations designed for children will be very useful during their growth phases. Previously, Head of the National Nutrition Agency Nanik Sudaryati Deyang stated that the MBG programme will be focused on disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost regions, as well as on pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers, in accordance with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives. Consequently, the agency has issued a circular stating that Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units not serving these target groups will be suspended. For the construction of service units in the targeted regions, the agency will explore several alternative schemes to avoid burdening the state budget.