Foreign Media Suddenly Highlights Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meal Budget, Citing This
The government’s move to cut the budget for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme, President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship initiative, has once again drawn the attention of foreign media. It has been reported that further budget cuts are forthcoming, including a reduction in the number of beneficiaries and a halt to the construction of new kitchens.
Reuters published an article on Thursday (25/6/2026) titled “Indonesia Weighs $2 Billion Cut to Prabowo’s Signature Free Meals Programme”. The media outlet described the move as one of the clearest indications of mounting fiscal pressure and governance challenges facing the government’s cornerstone programme.
The report cited internal documents and information from several sources familiar with the discussions. The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is said to be targeting a reduction of at least 15% from the MBG’s current budget of Rp268 trillion. The estimated cut is around Rp40 trillion, though one source suggested it could reach Rp50 trillion.
In addition to budget cuts, the internal review also indicated that the number of beneficiaries could potentially be reduced to 49 million people from the previous 62.5 million. The reduction will be implemented by tightening the social and economic criteria for programme recipients.
Reuters sources also revealed that the government plans to temporarily halt the addition of more than 13,000 new kitchens. This step was taken after an evaluation uncovered a number of inefficiencies in the programme, which began in January 2025 and has grown into one of the world’s largest free meal programmes.
“This programme requires a total redesign with a more decentralised system,” the source said, noting that the government could consider a school-based kitchen model like those implemented in Japan and China to reduce operational costs compared to building new kitchens on a massive scale.
The Ministry of Finance stated it is still awaiting a budget sharpening plan from the BGN before taking further steps. Meanwhile, a final decision on the amount of budget efficiency is expected to be discussed and agreed upon in the coming weeks.
Scrutiny of the MBG programme has intensified after former BGN Head Dadan Hindayana was dismissed by President Prabowo. He was subsequently arrested over allegations of mismanagement and corruption. “It’s not just because of limited fiscal space, but also because the case led the agency to discover a lot of unnecessary spending,” one source told Reuters.