Stressing Efficiency, Luhut Confident Free Nutritious Meal Programme Will Improve Within a Year

National Economic Council (DEN) Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is confident that the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme will improve considerably within the next six months to a year. “I am confident that in six months, a year from now, it will definitely be much better,” Luhut said at the DEN office in Jakarta on Wednesday, 24 June 2026. He also stated that the MBG programme, one of President Prabowo’s priority government initiatives, has a multiplier effect that will help drive national economic growth. “We also have an interest in ensuring the MBG programme boosts economic growth, because it is essentially about equitable distribution. Rp 1 trillion in budget funds flowing down to the grassroots has a huge impact,” he said. Although he acknowledged that the MBG programme was implemented in a rush, leading to a number of problems, Luhut asked the public not to continually find fault with the programme. He assured that the government is currently improving the MBG programme so that its future implementation will be better. “Perhaps we were a bit too hasty previously, so many issues arose. So there is no need to make too much fuss, as everything is being resolved properly,” Luhut said. Furthermore, Luhut conveyed that the government must now undertake various efficiency measures within the MBG programme. He even questioned why the programme had to be rolled out all at once, arguing that it should be implemented in stages. “Actually, further efficiency is needed. So we must identify the problems as well; why does it have to be done all at once? It could be done in stages,” he stated.