Prabowo to Restructure MBG Distribution Scheme
President Prabowo Subianto discussed the implementation of the free nutritious meals (MBG) project during a meeting with several prominent figures at his residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday evening, 17 March 2026. Content creator and entrepreneur Mardigu Wowiek Prasantyo, who attended the meeting, recounted that he gained a new perspective on MBG after spending 6 hours and 30 minutes in discussion with Prabowo.
According to Mardigu, Prabowo will restructure the MBG distribution design through a selection system for recipients. In the future, he said, only schools willing to accept MBG will receive the lunch boxes.
“So if a school or parents agree not to receive it, that’s fine, no coercion,” Mardigu said when contacted on Friday, 20 March 2026.
Mardigu also agreed that MBG could be more targeted if distributed to students or other beneficiaries in remote, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas. He assessed that the MBG programme, which has been running for over a year, can still be adjusted to meet field needs.
The challenge in the MBG programme, according to Mardigu, is the delivery of information from public officials, which often gets stuck. He predicted that MBG could receive a better response from the public if the government can translate Prabowo’s intentions. One way is to convey that schools, students, and parents can refuse MBG.
“In other words, just communicate to the public that this is good if (the recipients) are selected,” he said.
Mardigu and other figures also provided input to Prabowo so that this information can be quickly conveyed to the public. Their discussion was moderated by political consultant and former head of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Hasan Nasbi.
In addition to Mardigu, other figures who joined the gathering included founder of Narasi Newsroom, Najwa Shihab; editor-in-chief of SCTV and Indosiar, Retno Pinasti; economist and former finance minister, Muhammad Chatib Basri; founder of Freedom Institute, Rizal Mallarangeng; and Executive Director of CORE, Muhammad Faisal.
In the question-and-answer session, Prabowo explained that out of tens of thousands of free nutritious meal kitchens or nutrition fulfilment service units, 1,030 of them have been temporarily suspended due to issues. According to him, this temporary closure serves as an evaluation step to ensure every kitchen meets operational standards.
The former Defence Minister also admitted that whenever MBG is criticised, he will verify the truth with the Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana. “When MBG is attacked, I immediately check. I call the head of BGN and keep cross-checking,” said the General Chairman of the Gerindra Party.