Free Nutritious Meal Budget to Be Cut? Here's What Purbaya Says

JAKARTA – The government has opened the possibility of achieving budget efficiency for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme amidst an ongoing governance evaluation. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that decisions regarding the programme’s budget requirements will follow the President’s directives and the results of discussions with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). Purbaya confirmed that internal government communications have taken place regarding a possible adjustment to the MBG budget. However, he was not yet willing to disclose the potential extent of the budget reduction under discussion. “Yes [there have been communications about lowering the MBG budget]. We follow the decision of the President,” Purbaya told reporters at the DPR RI Complex in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026). When asked about the potential size of the budget adjustment, Purbaya asked the public to await further clarification from the BGN. “Later we will wait for what Bu Nanik [Head of BGN] says,” he stated. Previously, State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi revealed there was a chance for MBG budget efficiency after evaluating the programme’s implementation. “From the calculation results, we believe there will be a reduction in the budget requirements for this Free Nutritious Meal programme,” Prasetyo told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Building in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6/2026). Prasetyo explained that the government is still conducting calculations with the Ministry of Finance and the BGN to ensure more accurate budget needs. “That is why we ask for time to also calculate with the Ministry of Finance and with the BGN. So from the restructuring process, we can later calculate more carefully the actual total budget needed for this nutritious meal programme,” he explained. According to Prasetyo, the government is also restructuring the governance of the MBG programme, which is targeted for completion within about one month. During this process, the implementation of the ongoing programme is guaranteed to continue. “We are targeting the beginning of one month for this to be completed, but of course there are dynamics, so the first thing we stress is that what is already running continues to run, there must be no disruption. Everything [related to MBG improvements] will be looked at, not only the motorcycle issue, but other things as well,” he said. Prasetyo added that the evaluation also covers the existence of Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG), including facilities that do not meet standard operational procedures or experience overcapacity in a single region. “The direction is certainly towards that [closure], but we cannot say today whether it is closed or not; it is being restructured, so we look and inventory the conditions. So, we also cannot immediately draw conclusions just by referring to figures, we see that the conditions vary,” he stated. He stressed that all SPPGs must operate according to the standards set by the government. “Including if, pardon me, there are names of SPPG owners mentioned. Basically, it is not about who the owner is, but rather what is not allowed is violating the rules of the game or violating the established SOPs,” he said.