Indonesian President's signature free-meal scheme well received despite early snags

Indonesia's month-old, free-meal programme for students and pregnant women is working through early snags such as slow disbursement of payments and food-poisoning cases, but has been generally well received across the country, officials say.

- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

While observers continue to worry over how to sustainably fund the programme that will cost billions of dollars a year, President Prabowo Subianto's signature Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) or Free Nutritious Meal scheme has delivered more than 10 million meals to 600,000 students in 26 of Indonesia's 38 provinces as at Jan 31.

Launched on Jan 6, the programme also recently drew negative attention following several food-poisoning cases, but these appear to be isolated, the officials say.

The government has targeted delivery of free meals to 19.47 million people by the end of 2025, and will continue to increase the number to 82.9 million - nearly a third of the total population - by 2029, the final year of Mr Prabowo's current term of office.

The MBG scheme aims to combat stunted growth due to malnutrition, with the government also hoping that the daily meals for schoolchildren and pregnant women would help bolster economic growth.

"Most people have not imagined this programme would boost economic activities in villages across Indonesia, boost purchasing power in the grassroots, and create a significant impact on the national economy," the head of Indonesia's national economic council, Mr Luhut Pandjaitan, told The Straits Times over the phone on Feb 6.

President Prabowo marked his 100 days in office on Jan 28 with an impressive 80 per cent approval rating, surpassing even his popular predecessor Joko Widodo's 65 per cent, helped in part by the popularity of the free-meals initiative.

The approval rating was revealed in a survey conducted by independent pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia from Jan 16 to 21 and released on Jan 27.