UMJ Professor: Fix and Prioritise Free Nutritious Meals for Vulnerable Groups

Professor Sri Yunanto, a political science expert at the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ), has stated that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme is relevant to human resource development and must be improved to regain public trust. Speaking in Jakarta on Thursday, Sri Yunanto said MBG cannot be separated from a broader human development agenda, including free healthcare services, school repairs, the development of ‘Sekolah Rakyat’ (People’s Schools), and the construction of elite schools like ‘Sekolah Garuda’. However, he noted that the implementation of MBG faces serious challenges, particularly regarding governance. Various issues circulating in the community, ranging from alleged budget cuts and non-standard procedures to legal cases implicating officials within the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), are seen as potentially undermining the programme’s main objectives. He asserted that the government must take firm steps to cleanse the implementation of this national priority programme from corrupt practices and other irregularities so that a good idea is not ruined by poor execution. ‘What needs to be fixed now is the governance and its oversight,’ he said. Law enforcement, he added, must go hand in hand with management system reforms to restore public confidence in the programme. He assessed that the government needs to appoint competent figures with integrity to lead the programme’s implementation, enabling on-the-ground issues to be resolved promptly. A complete halt to the programme is not the right option. However, he noted that the current fiscal pressures should be a consideration in determining the target beneficiaries. He suggested the government could take a middle path by refocusing or sharpening the target beneficiaries to those who truly need it, such as the poor, people in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions (3T), pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups. This approach could maintain the programme’s primary objective while reducing the state budget burden amid fiscal constraints. Beyond governance improvements and target sharpening, he stressed the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the MBG programme’s impact since its inception in 2024. He argued that the government must be able to transparently demonstrate whether the programme has genuinely improved nutritional status, reduced stunting, created jobs, and stimulated the MSME sector. ‘What is needed now is evidence. Has nutritional status improved, have jobs increased, have MSMEs developed? All of this must be measured objectively,’ he said. He recommended that the evaluation be conducted by an independent institution involving academics, nutritionists, economists, and other relevant parties so that the results can be trusted by the public. The evaluation results, he continued, need to be published transparently as a form of government accountability and to address the various criticisms that have emerged. He also expressed appreciation for the government’s decision to temporarily halt MBG distribution during the school holiday period, viewing it as a sign that the government is willing to respond to fiscal conditions and public feedback. Furthermore, he encouraged the National Nutrition Agency to open wider collaboration spaces with universities and experts for periodic evaluation and oversight of the programme. He believes an open approach will help increase public trust while ensuring that the use of state funds yields measurable benefits.