TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Finance, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, stated that there are several challenges in the early stages of implementing the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program, especially regarding the readiness of the supply chain, food distribution, and logistics capacity. These constraints are most felt in the frontier, outermost, and least developed (3T) regions.
"The government is not turning a blind eye to the realities in the field," said Purbaya during the plenary session of the 25th House of Representatives of the 5th Session of the 2025-2026 term at the Parliament Building in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
The statement was made by Purbaya in response to the views of the Democratic Party Faction regarding the initial implementation of the MBG program. According to him, the government has prepared several steps to strengthen the readiness of the supply chain and logistics capacity in the regions. One of them is by encouraging the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) to empower rural production centers, Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes), micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and local providers.
Through this scheme, SPPG is expected to directly absorb food ingredients from farmers, breeders, and fishermen around the service locations. This step is aimed at strengthening the smooth supply of raw materials while also increasing the economic impact of the MBG program for the people in the regions.
The MBG program has recently come under scrutiny after the Attorney General's Office investigated alleged corruption in the governance of the program at the National Nutrition Agency. Investigators have named several suspects, including former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana, two former deputies, Sony Sanjaya Lodewyk Pusung and Asep Yusuf Somantri, Commissioner of PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (YAT) Andri Mulyono, and Chairman of the Indonesia Food Security Review Foundation (IFSR) Glory Harimas Sihombing.
The Attorney General's Office has also named Deputy Secretary for Promotion and Cooperation of BGN Brigadier General Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan as a suspect. Nonetheless, the Head of the President's Staff Office (KSP) Dudung Abdurachman stated that the free nutritious meal program will not stop just because it faces various problems in its implementation. He believes that the flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto must continue to operate while making improvements.
Dudung acknowledges that the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the implementer of MBG, is currently facing problems after some of its leaders became suspects in a corruption case. "The government is not turning a blind eye to the problems that have occurred," he said in a written statement on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
Read: AGO Orders Halt to Regional Data Collection for Free Meal Program
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