Hashim: Prabowo Proposed MBG Idea Before Dreaming of Founding Gerindra

Jakarta - Prabowo Subianto’s younger brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, has revealed that his sibling first proposed the idea for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme in 2006, long before even contemplating the founding of the Gerindra Party. Back in 2006, Hashim said, Prabowo already recognised that stunting posed a significant threat to the nation’s future. “Stunting is what prompted Prabowo Subianto in 2006 to propose this MBG programme idea. That was 2006, meaning 20 years ago. At that time, Mr Prabowo did not yet have a party; there was no Gerindra Party. There was no imagination, no dream of founding a party,” Hashim stated during the ABPEDNAS event at the Fairmont Hotel in Jakarta on Sunday night (19/4/2026). Hashim explained that in 2006, according to Ministry of Health data, 30 per cent of Indonesian children suffered from stunting or malnutrition. He recalled Prabowo’s concern about the situation at the time. After all, those stunted children would become the current workforce. “At that time, Mr Prabowo said to me, ‘If this cannot be addressed, this severe condition, we can imagine 20 years from now.’ He said 30 per cent of Indonesia’s workforce would be people who suffered from stunting, 30 per cent,” Hashim clarified. “Now it’s been 20 years, 20 years from 2006. Could it be that 30 per cent of our workers, in villages or factories or big cities, suffer from stunting? Imagine. With an average IQ that I hear is 72. People with stunting have an average IQ of 72 compared to the normal human 100,” he added.