JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto is reassessing two of his flagship programmes, signalling a possible shift in the rollout of the free nutritious meal and Red and White cooperative programmes, amid persistent controversies and growing public scrutiny surrounding his costly initiatives.
The possible changes became a key topic of discussion during his meeting on Wednesday (July 15) at the Palace with several cabinet members whose portfolios are related to the implementation of the two programmes, including those of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) in charge of running the free meals initiative.
Speaking after the four-hour closed-door meeting, BGN deputy chief Agustina Arumsari said the President has instructed the agency to conduct a thorough, careful review of how the free meals programme is implemented at schools, with a one-month deadline to complete the assessment.
“The President asked that every policy be thoroughly studied […] He wants the improvements to be fair and not done hastily,” she said.
The review will focus on assessing eligibility criteria for beneficiaries, with the government considering excluding higher-income groups and evaluating how such changes would be implemented in schools with mixed-income student populations.
“We don’t want a situation where some students receive meals while others in the same [classroom] do not […]. The President asked us to consider the psychological aspects and every other implication before making a decision,” Agustina said.
She also said the government was reviewing alternative ways to deliver the programme, including the possible use of school canteens instead of relying exclusively on free meal kitchens as currently constituted.
The President's instructions signalled a possible redesign of the programme, with the government moving toward more targeted assistance for the country’s most vulnerable communities and a less centralised model for delivering meals.
The programme, which has been budgeted at least Rp 268 trillion rupiah (US$19.5 billion) in 2026, is aimed at providing free food to around 83 million beneficiaries, including schoolchildren and pregnant women.
It is part of efforts to fight malnutrition and childhood stunting across the country. However, the programme has become a credibility test for Prabowo’s administration, with waves of street protests last month calling for its suspension, growing scrutiny over its high costs, food poisoning cases and a corruption investigation involving top officials from the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI).
Separately, Coordinating Food Minister Zulhas Hasan said the government has decided to expand the role of Red and White cooperatives, allowing them to serve as the government’s channel to distribute various government assistance programmes, including social aid and subsidised goods.
In addition to serving as a channel for government assistance, the cooperatives will also buy agricultural products such as rice and corn if market prices fall below government-set levels, helping farmers sell their produce at the prices determined by the government, he added.
The cooperatives, aimed at boosting rural economies, have also drawn heavy criticism after mandatory military-style training for their managers resulted in at least four deaths, adding to pressure on the government to review the programme’s implementation. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
