UI Student Alliance Erects Banners in Depok Criticising Free Nutritious Meal Programme
An alliance of students from several universities erected banners sharply criticising the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme at strategic points in Depok and the South Jakarta border on Friday, 26 June 2026. The early morning action served as a reminder that the government’s flagship programme is considered problematic and has claimed victims.
Banners were unfurled at various busy locations, from pedestrian bridges (JPO) to the flyover accessing the University of Indonesia. Messages displayed included “Roads Congested, MBG Runs Smoothly #TOWARDSBANKRUPTINDONESIA”, “MBG STINKS, OFFICIALS ARE SHAMELESS”, and “POLICE SHOULD HANDLE ROBBERS, NOT MBG”. There was also a claim regarding the number of poisoning victims: “33,626 STUDENTS HAVE BEEN POISONED BY MBG”.
Hafidz Haernanda, Coordinator for Social and Political Affairs of the University of Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM UI), confirmed the banner installation. He described the action as a warning to citizens not to forget the negative impacts of the MBG programme.
“Today, BEM UI, BEM NF, BPM & SEMA FH KM UP, and the BEMFAK Alliance from Gunadarma installed stern warning banners in Depok. We came to remind the people that MBG is not a solution, but a major problem,” Hafidz said on Friday, 26 June 2026.
According to him, the installation was carried out around 4:00 AM WIB at several points, including the Lenteng Agung pedestrian bridge, two pedestrian bridges on Margonda, the Cijago Toll Road on Juanda Street, in front of the Depok billboard, Pancasila University Station, and the UI access bridge.
Hafidz assessed that the MBG programme has actually created new problems, including poisoning cases among students. “A programme that is supposedly ‘nutritious’ has instead become poison for the nation’s next generation. Trillions of rupiah of the people’s money is claimed for free lunches, but in reality, it is being corrupted so lightly,” he said.
He also criticised the role of the police, which he deemed misdirected. “Depok’s roads are severely congested every day, public transport is a mess, but the authorities are busy managing MBG kitchens,” said the student from the UI Faculty of Administrative Sciences.
The students demanded that the government take responsibility for the alleged poisoning, the use of the state budget, and the direction of development priorities. “Residents of Depok, do not let them forget this just because of sweet reporting,” Hafidz stated.
Based on Tempo’s monitoring, several banners on Jalan Margonda, Simpang Juanda, the Margonda pedestrian bridge, and the UI access flyover were removed a few hours after being installed. Hafidz assessed that the swift removal indicated a fear of the message conveyed by the students. “Our banners were indeed removed within hours. But our message cannot be removed,” he said.
Previously, on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, a mass calling themselves the Depok Community Alliance held a peaceful rally at Depok City Hall to support various policies of President Prabowo Subianto. A day later, another group of residents held a rally rejecting the MBG and urging the reactivation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).