TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The chairperson of the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership, Busyro Muqoddas, has proposed that the free nutritious meal program (MBG) be temporarily suspended for a thorough evaluation. According to him, the various corrective measures recently taken by the government have not addressed the root of the problems with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program.
Busyro believes that the restructuring of beneficiaries and the planned use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to support the operation of the MBG kitchens are not sufficient to guarantee improvements in program implementation. "At the very least, we should temporarily suspend MBG, then evaluate it," Busyro said when met at the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership Building in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
According to Busyro, the fundamental problem with the MBG program lies in its transparency and lack of thorough planning from the outset. As a result, from upstream to downstream, this priority project of the Prabowo administration has been riddled with problems, ranging from corruption to food poisoning cases affecting a number of beneficiaries. "The harm is clearly greater," he said.
However, Busyro emphasized that Muhammadiyah does not reject the idea of providing nutritious meals for students. He stated that Muhammadiyah schools had been implementing similar programs long before the government launched the MBG.
According to him, the issue being criticized is not the program's objectives, but rather its implementation management, which is deemed to have failed to meet the principles of transparency, accountability, and quality planning.
Therefore, Muhammadiyah is currently completing several studies on various government policies, including the MBG project. The results of these studies are planned to be submitted directly to President Prabowo in the near future.
In addition to dialogue, Busyro is also taking legal action by filing a judicial review of the MBG project with the Constitutional Court. The lawsuit, filed as an individual, questions the use of education funds in the State Budget to fund the program.
Busyro stated that the judicial review was taken as a form of constitutional and civilized criticism of government policies. "If the government takes steps that violate manners, we will demonstrate a civilized approach. We will go to the Constitutional Court," he said.
Read: Indonesia May End Free Meals Program for High School Students
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