Support for Free Nutritious Meals Programme Swells as Mass Rally Held in Jakarta
Thousands of demonstrators, organised under the South Jakarta Community Alliance for Child Nutrition, held a peaceful protest to defend and support the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme in the Medan Merdeka Selatan area, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.
Balda, the coordinator for the South Jakarta Community Alliance, stated that the MBG programme has already delivered tangible impacts on the ground. Currently, tens of millions of school children are experiencing its direct benefits.
“This MBG programme is highly beneficial for the future of our children. They are becoming healthier and more enthusiastic about learning at school,” Baldo said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.
Furthermore, the programme is reportedly beneficial to the local economy, as it has been proven to create employment for over 1.2 million people.
In addition to supporting the free meal programme, the alliance also declared its support for the strengthening of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).
They stated that the role of the BGN is vital in managing and ensuring that the distribution of nutritious food is smooth, equitable, and precisely targeted across Indonesia for the nation’s future progress.
“We fully support the President’s firmness. Arrest and imprison all corruptors without discrimination. State funds must truly return to the people for programmes such as the MBG,” said Balda.
Through this peaceful protest, the South Jakarta Community Alliance invited all levels of society, including student elements, to work together in monitoring pro-people government programmes.
They believe that the collaboration between nutritional improvement via the BGN and the eradication of corruption can lead Indonesia towards becoming a more just, prosperous, and welfare-oriented nation.
The protest, which was claimed to be attended by approximately 10,000 people, proceeded in an orderly and peaceful manner, with participants carrying banners of support.
A similar protest took place on Wednesday (17/6) at the same location, attended by thousands of demonstrators from the East Jakarta Community Alliance, who also supported the continuity of the MBG programme while urging stronger law enforcement against corruptors.