Puspoll: Government Responsive to Public Aspirations Regarding Free Nutritious Meals Programme

Executive Director of the Indonesian Polling Centre (Puspoll Indonesia) Chamad Hojin assessed that the government is highly responsive to various inputs and dynamics developing in society regarding the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Programme. Hojin also appreciated President Prabowo Subianto’s move to give the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) time to conduct a thorough evaluation of the MBG, including improving the validity of beneficiary data, implementation governance, and programme distribution mechanisms in order to strengthen the quality of programme implementation so that it is more targeted, transparent, and sustainable. “A programme as large as MBG certainly cannot be perfect from the start. The most important thing is the government’s willingness to listen to public aspirations, evaluate implementation, and immediately make improvements when various problems are found in the field,” said Chamad Hojin in a written statement in Jakarta on Saturday. The survey showed that public support for the Free Nutritious Meals Programme remains at a majority level, but has experienced a significant decline from 85.5 percent in August 2025 to 55.5 percent in May 2026. In addition, 64.4 percent of respondents stated they lacked confidence or did not believe that the MBG Programme was completely free from corrupt practices, while in testing various government priority programmes, MBG was in the group of programmes that the public felt needed improvement in its implementation. Nevertheless, the survey findings also showed that the decline was not a rejection of the MBG Programme’s objectives, but was more influenced by public concerns about its implementation. “The public distinguishes between the programme’s objectives and its implementation. They support the government’s efforts to improve the nutrition of Indonesian children, but at the same time want better, more transparent, and truly targeted implementation,” he said. Based on the survey results, several aspects were of most concern to the public, including the accuracy of beneficiary targeting, food quality and safety, transparency of budget management, governance of the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG), field supervision mechanisms, and the economic benefits that can be felt by farmers, MSMEs, and local business actors. Therefore, according to Hojin, the President’s move to evaluate beneficiary data and the programme implementation scheme is an appropriate response to public aspirations. “The government is actually demonstrating adaptive leadership. When the public provides input through various channels, including survey results, the government responds by conducting an evaluation. This is a healthy governance practice,” said Hojin. Puspoll Indonesia assessed that the evaluation should not stop at merely updating administrative data, but should become a momentum to strengthen the overall governance of the MBG Programme. The evaluation needs to include an audit of the procurement chain, food safety standards, distribution mechanisms, supervision systems, public information disclosure, and measurement of the programme’s impact on improving children’s nutritional status. According to Hojin, the success of the MBG Programme is ultimately measured not only by the number of beneficiaries or the number of kitchens built, but also by the extent to which the programme is able to improve the quality of children’s nutrition, reduce the economic burden on families, and provide economic benefits for the community around the implementation sites. “The courage to conduct an evaluation is part of good governance. National priority programmes will gain public trust if the government openly corrects various implementation weaknesses. We see the President’s move as an important momentum to strengthen the credibility and sustainability of the MBG Programme,” said Hojin.