Parliamentary Budget Committee Chair: Free Nutritious Meal Programme a Mandatory Education Expenditure, Non-Negotiable
Said Abdullah, head of the Parliamentary Budget Committee (Banggar) of the Indonesian House of Representatives, has addressed the state budget situation for 2026 amid escalating Middle Eastern tensions. He outlined several anticipatory measures the government must consider, including sharpening the distinction between pressing and non-pressing priority programmes.
Abdullah cited non-pressing programmes that warrant review and potential deferral. He exemplified toll road projects as candidates for temporary suspension, noting that since toll projects span multiple years, the government could strengthen its contingency reserves. “For example, if the government is building toll roads and the like, these could be held back temporarily. After all, toll projects span many years anyway, so the government could bolster its budget reserves. Just in case,” Abdullah stated at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
Abdullah also urged the government to sharpen subsidy targeting, which he said remains inadequately precise. He flagged subsidies for upper-income groups and industry as potential budget bloat. “Non-pressing programmes can be deferred. Then there is LPG subsidy refinement—8.6 million metric tonnes per year keeps rising. Yet we know collectively that by law this should be a closed system. But it is sold openly,” he explained.
He highlighted concerns about the current targeting mechanism. “There is no proper system yet, only based on DTSEN (Integrated Socioeconomic Data). It should just use fingerprints, click. Or something more advanced like retina scanning. I am confident that would bring it down to about 5.5 million maximum,” he added.
When questioned about the Prabowo Subianto government’s national strategic programmes (PSN), including the Free Nutritious Meal programme (MBG) and Red-and-White Village/Municipal Cooperatives, Abdullah stated that MBG falls within the mandatory education budget cluster and is therefore non-negotiable.
“If MBG is in the mandatory education budget cluster, it is compulsory. It is simply non-negotiable. It is called an education budget, after all, and is mandatory,” Abdullah stated. Nevertheless, he cautioned that improvements in MBG governance must be continuously monitored. He expressed hope that the MBG programme would be implemented effectively.
“Improvements in implementation governance are needed in the field, and I agree with that. But it is legally compulsory because it is mandatory, and it is education,” he concluded.