FITRA Criticizes Prabowo's Use of Personal Funds for Free Nutritious Meals

February 3, 2025 | 06:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) has criticized the use of President Prabowo Subianto's personal funds for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program. This step is considered to be at risk of causing non-transparent budget reporting.

The criticism from the independent organization working on social control was released after 100 days of Prabowo's administration. The MBG program was launched on January 6, 2025, distributing 570,000 portions of food on the first day and involving 190 kitchens in more than 20 provinces, with an initial focus on school children and pregnant women.

"This raises concerns about transparency and potential conflicts of interest, especially regarding the use of President Prabowo's personal funds to finance the program," Fitra wrote in an official statement on Monday, February 3, 2025.

Using personal funds could be non-transparent and can create conflicts of interest. It is also considered to set a bad example in public financial management.

According to Fitra, if the president or state officials use personal funds for state activities, it is important to ensure transparency and accountability. State financing should be derived from clear and controlled state budgets. "This is to prevent political patronage."

Previously, the Head of Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, claimed that several regions used President Prabowo's personal funds to run the MBG program, which was first launched on January 6. "In Kendari, they still have leftover trial funds from what was given by Mr. Prabowo before. So they are still using that fund," said Hasan Nasbi.

The free nutritious meals managed by the National Nutrition Agency obtained revenues from the State Budget (APBN) amounting to Rp71 trillion in 2025. The budget is proposed to increase as the government aims to accelerate the distribution target to 82.9 million recipients.

Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the writing of this article.

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