Student Who Wrote to Prabowo Rejecting Free Nutritious Meals Faces Intimidation

A vocational secondary school (SMK) student in Kudus, Central Java, who previously sent a letter to President Prabowo Subianto regarding his rejection of free nutritious meals (MBG), Muhammad Rafif Arsya Maulidi, has experienced intimidation. Rafif is an 11th-grade student at SMK NU Miftahul Falah Kudus.

Information about the intimidation faced by Arsya was confirmed by his supporter, Tiyo Ardianto, Chairman of the Universitas Gadjah Mada Student Executive Body. “It’s true (there was intimidation). There was an SPPG (nutrition fulfilment service unit) employee who verbally abused Arsya,” Tiyo said when contacted on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.

Tiyo provided screenshots containing messages with abusive tones sent by the perpetrator to Arsya. The messages were sent in Javanese. Tiyo provided the translation.

Here is the content of the messages sent by the perpetrator via direct message to Arsya’s Instagram account.

“Touch me in front of me here. Dare to DM me or not? Dog, you dog?”

“Never talk about whose backing I have, but it’s just as it should be.”

The perpetrator did not only send messages to Arsya’s Instagram DM. They also left comments on Arsya’s posts. “Tell me to speak in front of me, so I can headbutt you,” they wrote.

When receiving the intimidation, Tiyo said Arsya also faced pressure from the school. Tiyo said Arsya was asked to delete the post of the letter addressed to the head of state.

However, Arsya refused to delete the post. “There was a request to delete it. But Arsya refused. After that, there were no more efforts to silence Arsya,” Tiyo said.

One school representative said they were unaware of the details of the case experienced by Arsya. One teacher said there was no effort from the school to intimidate or ask Arsya to delete the post.

Tempo is still trying to contact the principal of SMK NU Miftahul Falah Kudus to confirm this. Tempo has also contacted the Head of the National Nutrition Agency Dadan Hindayana and Deputy Head of BGN Nanik S. Deyang. However, neither has responded.

Previously, Arsya sent a letter to President Prabowo Subianto to convey an unusual request. He asked that his MBG allocation be redirected as additional welfare for teachers.

Muhammad Rafif Arsya Maulidi, an 11th-grade student at SMK NU Miftahul Falah Kudus, stated that he rejects receiving MBG benefits for himself. He hopes that the budget allocation can be used to help teachers whom he considers not yet prosperous.

“If possible, the funds that should be allocated for me could be redirected as additional allowances for my teachers,” Rafif said when contacted on Thursday night, 2 April 2026.

Rafif stated that he comes from a simple family. His father works as a labourer, while his mother is a housewife. In the letter, he emphasised that he was educated by his parents to respect those who have contributed to his life. For him, besides his parents, teachers play a significant role in shaping him.

Rafif admitted to feeling sorry seeing the current condition of some teachers directly. Especially teachers at his school who continue to teach with dedication, even though their welfare is not yet adequate.

He then simply calculated the value of the MBG benefits he would receive until graduation, which is around Rp 6.75 million. “Currently, I still have about one and a half years of study at SMK. If calculated simply, (18 months x 25 days x Rp 15 thousand = Rp 6,750,000),” he said.