Prabowo: I Am Attacked for Wanting to Provide Nutritious Meals

PRESIDENT Prabowo Subianto has claimed that he is being attacked because he wants to provide nutritious food for the Indonesian people. The Head of State said many parties view his flagship project, the free nutritious meal programme known as MBG, as wasteful.

Prabowo made the remarks whilst delivering his address at a Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace within the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta. “I am attacked because I want to provide nutritious meals for Indonesian children, for pregnant mothers, for the elderly, and it is considered wasteful,” Prabowo said on Monday afternoon, 20 July 2026.

The Chairman of the Gerindra Party expressed bewilderment that some call the MBG project wasteful, yet do not protest the leakage of state wealth over recent decades.

“Yet thousands of trillions that evaporated, that left Indonesian soil every year for 34 years, drew no comment. No expert protested. There was no investigation,” Prabowo said.

According to Prabowo, MBG aims to feed Indonesian children in order to tackle malnutrition. “We want to feed our children, when clearly at least a quarter of our children are stunting,” he said.

The former Defence Minister under President Joko Widodo highlighted that many children still do not eat breakfast before leaving for school. He once again expressed his bewilderment that this objective is being called wasteful.

“A large proportion also — many go to school without eating. We are accused of wastefulness. We are told the economy will collapse. Share prices will plummet, the currency will weaken. The reason given is that it is wasteful,” Prabowo said.