Management Still Lacking, Prabowo Admits 3,000 MBG Kitchens Closed

JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that the management of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme still has many shortcomings. More than 3,000 Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) or MBG kitchens were deemed problematic in their implementation. He said this in his address to the Plenary Session of the Indonesian House of Representatives for the Macro Economic Framework and the Main Policy of Fiscal Policy (KEM-PPKF) at the DPR complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday 20 May 2026.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, we recognise that the management of MBG still has many shortcomings,’ Prabowo asserted. Nevertheless, the government continues to crack down on various violations found in the programme’s implementation. ‘We have closed more than 3,000 kitchens,’ the head of state said. ‘I have asked officials and I invite members of the House of Representatives and provincial/regency leaders across the country to inspect all the kitchens. If anything does not conform, report it immediately, and we will act promptly,’ he stressed.

According to Prabowo, the MBG programme must not be run improperly because it forms part of the constitutional mandate of the 1945 Constitution, particularly Articles 33 and 34. He said those simple aspirations are a constitutional responsibility that the state must realise.

Based on the results of evaluation and the latest data on national potential, the president said he is optimistic. He believes Indonesia has the financial capacity and resources more than enough to prosper the people, provided the constitutional mandate is carried out without misappropriation.

On that occasion, Prabowo noted that MBG currently benefits 62.4 million recipients daily. ‘This figure includes 6.3 million children under five, 2 million breastfeeding mothers, and 868,000 pregnant women receiving MBG daily,’ he added.

Additionally, the government plans to extend MBG to elderly people who live alone. ‘We will also provide MBG to 500,000 elderly people who live by themselves, who are living alone and in need of nutritious meals,’ Prabowo asserted.