MBG Watch Coalition Deems Kitchen Construction Moratorium Insufficient

Civil society coalition MBG Watch staged a protest in front of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) office on Kebon Sirih Street, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (10/6/2026), demanding a temporary suspension of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. A representative of the demonstrators, Agus Sarwono, stated that one of the key demands was for BGN to halt the programme for at least 30 days. “Our emphasis is clear: a moratorium first, stop, pause for a moment, and fix the governance,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

The Transparency International Indonesia researcher assessed that BGN’s moratorium on the construction of nutritional fulfilment service units (SPPG), or MBG kitchens, is insufficient. This is because the MBG programme continues to operate despite the construction halt. According to Agus, numerous internal problems at BGN must be resolved before the programme can resume, noting that quite a few BGN insiders own MBG kitchens. “In fact, one of the biggest corruption risks in the free nutritious meal programme is conflicts of interest,” he said.

Furthermore, MBG Watch urged BGN to transparently disclose its procurement processes, including the appointment of partners, as there has never been clear public information on these matters. “Thirdly, we really want, or at least would like to get information on, who the real players are. Because there are so many foundation partners who are actually affiliated with interest groups: political parties, members of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), members of regional legislative councils (DPRD), and so on,” Agus said.

He emphasised that the protest was not aimed at permanently stopping the MBG programme, acknowledging that some parties genuinely need it. “We cannot deny that there are beneficiaries who are truly in need. We at TII have visited schools ourselves, where some headmasters said, ‘Oh yes, here it is right on target,’” he said. On the other hand, the programme has also been poorly targeted, with many recipients not actually requiring free food funded by taxpayers’ money. “This means selectivity is needed, don’t just distribute it carelessly,” he remarked.