Prabowo Acknowledges Problems with Free Nutritious Meal Programme: 'We Will Rectify'
President Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that there are still many problems in the implementation of the free nutritious meal programme. Prabowo stated that he wants to resolve the problems that have emerged in the school lunch programme, which was introduced during his administration.
He said that MBG, together with the Koperasi Merah Putih project, is a milestone in the economy during his administration. However, Prabowo admitted that the implementation of MBG still has many problems.
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“That there are many problems, yes, that there are many challenges, true, MBG has many problems, we must rectify it,” he said in Nganjuk, East Java on Saturday, May 26, 2026, as broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat.
According to the General Chairman of the Gerindra Party, one of the problems that often occurs in Indonesia is that many leaders cannot maintain integrity when dealing with money. Prabowo emphasized that he would not hesitate to remove officials who abuse their authority.
Prabowo intends to continue the programme. He claims to often meet with people who consider MBG important. “I met ordinary people, farmers, (they said) ‘Sir, please don’t stop MBG, it really helps my grandchildren eat, it really helps me, it really helps my family’,” said the former defense minister.
Currently, the government plans to inaugurate the National Command Center for the Free Nutritious Meal Programme (MBG) in mid-May 2026. This was conveyed by the Deputy for Coordination of Affordability and Food Security at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Nani Hendiarti.
“So, the command center for the implementation of the MBG programme throughout Indonesia will be at the Coordinating Ministry for Food. It is planned to be launched on May 17, around that date,” said Nani, as quoted by Antara, Sunday, April 27, 2026.
She said that the operation of the command center aims to improve synergy between the central government, regions, and various related stakeholders. In addition, the Coordinating Ministry for Food is also working to strengthen programme governance and improve the quality of services at the Food Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) through the command center.
“In 2026, we are focusing on improving quality, so through improving governance. Then we also see that achieving the target of the MBG programme intervention must also be achieved,” said Nani.
To improve service quality, she said that thousands of SPPGs have been temporarily suspended until the managers can resolve the problems that have emerged. The suspension is mostly related to cases of poisoning and unhygienic facilities.
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