Malang DPRD Chair Supports Student Demands to Halt Free Nutritious Meal Programme
Chair of the Malang City Regional House of Representatives (DPRD), Amithya Ratnanggani Sirraduhita, expressed opposition to the free nutritious meal programme (MBG) while meeting with student demonstrators at the DPRD office in Malang, East Java, on Monday, 15 June 2026. Amithya’s statement was recorded in a post by the University of Brawijaya Student Executive Board, which spearheaded the ‘Indonesia Gawat Darurat’ (Indonesia Emergency) protest.
In the video uploaded to the @bem_ubofficial Instagram account, Amithya is seen surrounded by students while holding a loudspeaker. ‘We agree to stop the MBG programme,’ said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician. Her statement was met with cheers from the crowd. She also apologised, acknowledging that government programmes have not been executed perfectly.
According to her, the students’ concerns are justified because government policies have betrayed public trust. As a regional council leader, she pledged to convey the students’ aspirations to the government. Amithya was not alone in meeting the students; she was accompanied by several other Malang City DPRD members. One figure who drew the crowd’s attention was Rimzah, Deputy Chair of the Malang City DPRD from the Gerindra Party faction.
In front of the crowd, Rimzah read out the main demand of the protest, which urged the cessation of the MBG programme following the corruption case involving the head of the National Nutrition Agency. He then promised to report the demands to the Gerindra Party Central Executive Board. ‘As the head of the Gerindra Party’s Malang City branch, I am responsible for bringing your demands to the central level,’ Rimzah stated.
The ‘Indonesia Gawat Darurat’ protest was attended by hundreds of students calling themselves the Aliansi Mahasiswa Resah Brawijaya (Brawijaya Concerned Student Alliance), centred at the Malang City DPRD office. The protesters put forward five demands: increasing the efficiency and transparency of the state budget (APBN), lowering the prices of basic necessities and fuel, stopping the MBG and the ‘Red and White Village Cooperatives’ programme, abolishing the dual function of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and urging the government to admit its mistakes and not be anti-criticism.