Jakarta Community Alliance Ready for Long March, Calls for Continuation of Free Nutritious Meals Programme

The Jakarta Community Alliance has declared its readiness to hold a peaceful demonstration and long march on Monday (22/6) to voice support for the continuation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority initiatives. A representative of the Jakarta Community Alliance stated that the action will commence at 14.00 WIB, involving approximately 50,000 participants from various areas across DKI Jakarta. “We, the Jakarta Community Alliance, will conduct a long march and peaceful action on Monday together with roughly 50,000 citizens from all corners of Jakarta to support President Prabowo’s main programme of continuing MBG,” said Action Coordinator Edy Marzuki to the media in Jakarta on Sunday. According to him, the action will be centred at the Horse Statue area in the Silang Monas precinct, Central Jakarta. Before gathering at the main location, participants are scheduled to undertake a long march from the area in front of the United States Embassy towards the Horse Statue. The alliance also invites members of the public who believe the MBG programme provides benefits for fulfilling schoolchildren’s nutritional needs, creating employment opportunities, and sustaining micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to join the action. “All our brothers and sisters from across the homeland who care about the nutrition of schoolchildren, who care about job vacancies, and who care about the sustainability of MSMEs in the regions are welcome to join us for the long march and action supporting President Prabowo to continue the MBG programme,” he said. In addition to expressing support for the MBG programme, the alliance is also voicing backing for the government’s efforts in law enforcement, particularly in eradicating corruption. Regarding participant numbers, the alliance mentioned that the crowd attending will come from various areas of DKI Jakarta with diverse professional backgrounds, ranging from housewife groups to workers involved in the MBG ecosystem. Furthermore, the organisers also conveyed an apology to the public should the execution of the action cause traffic disruptions on several road sections traversed by participants. “We also apologise if our peaceful action tomorrow disturbs the public due to traffic congestion, and at the same time remind the citizens joining tomorrow’s peaceful action and long march to be orderly,” he stated. Meanwhile, on Friday (19/6), Presidential Chief of Staff General TNI (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman affirmed the government’s commitment to continuing the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme amidst the internal reform process at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). “The change of BGN leadership and the ongoing legal process demonstrate that the government is not turning a blind eye to the problems occurring. The government has the courage to conduct evaluations, rectify weaknesses, and improve the programme’s governance so it becomes better in the future,” he said. Dudung also assured that internal obstacles would not halt a programme that serves the vital interests of the people.