Palace Responds to Constitutional Court Ruling on Free Nutritious Meal Programme: We Respect It, We Will Study It
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi has responded to the Constitutional Court’s ruling regarding the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. The Court has mandated that the budget for President Prabowo Subianto’s free school meal programme for children must be separated from the education budget starting from 202<0xC2>8.
Prasetyo stated that the Palace has received information regarding the decision. “We have also received information that the Constitutional Court has reached a decision,” he said in Central Java during a video statement from the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday night, 30 July 2026.
However, the Gerindra Party politician has not yet received a copy of the court’s decision as he is currently out of town. “Of course, whatever the Constitutional Court’s decision is, we will respect it and study it later,” Prasetyo said.
He noted that budgetary matters involve not only the government but also the House of Representatives (DPR). “Because, in any matter concerning the budget, we do not stand alone. The budget is prepared together with our colleagues in the DPR. So, please give us some time,” he added.
The Constitutional Court partially granted lawsuit number 40/PUU-XXIV/2026, which concerned the judicial review of Law Number 17 of 2025 regarding the 2026 State Budget (APBN). The lawsuit was filed by the Taman Belajar Nusantara Foundation along with four citizens.
The petitioners challenged the inclusion of the free nutritious meal project within the education budget, as regulated under Article 22, paragraph 3 of the 2026 APBN Law. In its ruling, the Court declared that this regulation contradicts the constitutional mandate.
The Court stated that the MBG project can no longer be included within the operational definition of educational implementation. Constitutional Court Judge Enny Nurbaningsih stated that the MBG project budget must be separated from the education budget in the APBN in subsequent years.
The Court emphasised that this budgetary separation is intended to uphold the constitutional mandate regarding the 20 per cent mandatory spending of the APBN for education. This separation, she noted, also provides a strong legal basis for the implementation of the MBG project as a priority government programme.
“The MBG programme must be removed or separated from the operational definition of educational implementation, so that it no longer utilises the education budget allocation within the APBN,” said Enny while reading the verdict at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Thursday, 30 July 2026.
The Court stipulated that the separation of the MBG budget from the education budget must be implemented no later than the 2028 APBN, or at the latest, two years from the reading of the decision.
Nevertheless, the Court suggested that the government should finalise the APBN structure more quickly, so that the separation of the MBG budget from educational operations could begin as early as the 2027 APBN.