Indonesia is scaling back President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free school meal program amid mounting budget pressures, growing public dissatisfaction, corruption scandals, and widespread food poisoning incidents, according to official reports. The retrenchment follows Prabowo’s declaration in January at an international conference in Switzerland, where he stated that the initiative would soon surpass McDonald’s by serving more meals each day than the fast-food chain sells worldwide.
The ambitious initiative aims to provide free meals to about 83 million people. Eligible recipients include children under 5, kindergarteners, school students from elementary through high school, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. The program is designed to improve nutrition in Indonesia, an emerging economy that aims to become one of the world’s five largest economies by 2045. Although poverty levels have improved, about 20 percent of Indonesian children suffer from stunted growth, a condition where children are shorter than average due to malnutrition.
Rapid Expansion Triggers Hygiene Crises and Food Poisoning
The government initially aimed to provide meals to all eligible recipients within the year, with the number of beneficiaries reaching around 62 million by May. Operations at about 28,000 meal centers were outsourced to private companies, but many operators lacked adequate hygiene standards. According to the Network for Education Watch Indonesia (JPPI), at least 37,000 people have suffered from food poisoning linked to the program. At a public elementary school in East Jakarta, 77 of around 470 students fell ill after eating the meals in May.
Mohamad Naufal Zaelani, a 12-year-old student who was hospitalized for four days, said the program had helped his family’s finances but that he was now “scared if I have to eat the meals again.” With hygiene management becoming an increasingly pressing issue, the government is seeking to shift the program’s focus from expanding the number of meals served to improving their quality and the operation of meal centers.
Did You Know? President Prabowo Subianto declared in January at an international conference in Switzerland that the free meal program would soon surpass McDonald’s by serving more meals each day than the global fast-food chain sells worldwide.
Budget Pressures, Corruption Arrests, and Protests
The program’s initial budget for the current fiscal year was set at 335 trillion rupiah, or about $18.6 billion, accounting for around 9 percent of Indonesia’s national budget. While the initiative has received support from some members of the public, critics say the scale of spending risks pushing other priorities aside. JPPI national coordinator Ubaid Matraji said issues including raising teacher salaries and renovating school buildings were being neglected. “We need to allocate education budget on three main priorities: teachers, school infrastructure and children who are out of school, not free meals,” he said.
Concerns over the program intensified in June when the former head of the National Nutrition Agency, which oversees the initiative, and others were arrested on suspicion of corruption. They are suspected of awarding contracts to operate school meal centers to businesses with which they had ties and receiving illicit profits in return. The arrests coincided with worsening tensions in the Middle East that put pressure on Indonesia’s national finances and fueled growing concerns over inflation. The scandal subsequently triggered a series of protests calling for the program to be suspended.
Potential Scaling Back and Future Outlook
The government cut the program’s budget to 268 trillion rupiah in May, but it is now under pressure to make further reductions. One proposal currently under consideration is to remove high school students from the list of eligible recipients. Ubaid said the government should halt the program, review its operations, and prioritize children suffering from malnutrition, poor families, and areas with nutrition problems. “The government has too high a target and wants the program running fast. It forgot to strengthen the system and governance,” Ubaid said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to receive meals under the program?
The initiative aims to provide free meals to about 83 million people, including children under 5, kindergarteners, school students from elementary through high school, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.
What problems have emerged during the rollout of the program?
Operations outsourced to private companies revealed a lack of adequate hygiene standards, leading to at least 37,000 people suffering from food poisoning, alongside corruption arrests involving officials who allegedly awarded contracts to businesses with which they had ties.
How has the government responded to the mounting budget and operational pressures?
The government cut the program’s budget from 335 trillion rupiah to 268 trillion rupiah in May, faced proposals to remove high school students from eligibility, and is seeking to shift focus from expanding meal counts to improving food quality and center operations.