MBG and Kopdes Programmes Deemed a Tangible Manifestation of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution

Entering its 27th year, the Komite Almamater Rakyat Teritorial (KARAT) has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding national economic sovereignty based on the constitution. During a reflection event held in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java, on Saturday, 11 July, the movement organisation called for the alignment of people-based economic growth that is deeply rooted at the grassroots level. The KARAT 27-Year Manifesto was read directly by the organisation’s leader, Bungas T. Fernando Duling. In his speech, the man familiarly known as Nando outlined the long transformation of the organisation, which was born from the womb of people’s resistance in 1999. “Twenty-seven years of our journey is not a short time. This is a tiered growth like steps on a staircase, an organic transformation from the womb of people’s resistance,” Nando said before the cadres, nodes, and members present. He explained that KARAT has undergone three phases of institutional transformation reflecting its adaptation to the dynamics of the times. Starting as the Komite Aksi Rakyat Tertindas (1999–2004), the organisation then evolved into the Komite Aksi Rakyat Teritorial (2005–2025), before finally solidifying itself as the Komite Almamater Rakyat Teritorial in 2026. To face geopolitical and domestic economic challenges, KARAT formulated three main movement strategies. First is Research and Live-In, a movement to make villages a laboratory. This strategy emphasises the importance of making villages a social laboratory by going directly to the mass base and actively engaging in dialogue with policymakers at both central and regional levels. Second is the extra-parliamentary action movement, which maintains the streets as a corridor for social control while strengthening the policies of the President of the Republic of Indonesia that are consistent with Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. The third is the implementation of the Asta Cita, ensuring that the grand vision of national defence and self-reliance can be realised purely at the grassroots level. In the manifesto, Nando paid special attention to two strategic national programmes of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration: the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG) and the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP). KARAT assesses that both programmes are a tangible manifestation of the implementation of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution aimed at stopping national economic leakage.