TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto claims that he is being attacked for wanting to provide nutritious meals for Indonesian people. The Head of State stated that many parties considered his flagship project, the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG), to be wasteful.
Prabowo expressed this during a briefing at the Full Cabinet Meeting at the State Palace, within the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, today. "I am being attacked for wanting to provide nutritious food for the children of Indonesia, for pregnant women, for the elderly, and it is considered wasteful," said Prabowo on Monday afternoon, July 20, 2026.
The Gerindra Party chair expressed his surprise at some calling the MBG project a waste, yet not protesting the leakage of the country's wealth over the past few decades.
"But trillions are disappearing, leaving the Indonesian land every year for 34 years, no comments. No experts protest. No investigation," Prabowo stated.
According to Prabowo, MBG aims to provide food for Indonesian children to combat malnutrition. "We want to feed the children, who clearly a minimum of a quarter of our children are stunted," he said.
The former Minister of Defense during President Joko Widodo's administration highlighted that many children still do not have breakfast before going to school. He reiterated his astonishment because his goal is being called wasteful.
"Most of them also do not eat before going to school. We are accused of being wasteful. They say the economy is about to collapse. Stock prices will plummet, and the currency will weaken. The reason being wasteful," stated Prabowo.
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