Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said his flagship free nutritious meal (MBG) program is considered the world's biggest logistics achievement in years. He compared recipients of the free meal program in Indonesia with those in Brazil.
Indonesia is leagues ahead of Brazil in terms of the number of free meal recipients, according to Prabowo. "Brazil reached 40 million beneficiaries in 11 years, while we crossed 49 million in less than 12 months," said Prabowo while addressing the Golkar Party anniversary event in Jakarta on Friday, December 5, 2025.
The free nutritious meal program has also been distributed to remote areas in the country, which Prabowo said was no easy feat. "So, this is probably the world's biggest logistics achievement in several years," said the Chair of the Gerindra Party.
He did not mean to be prideful for the high number of recipients, but Prabowo said he's proud to see Indonesian children receiving free nutrition from the state. "For people who have never seen starving children, they can't feel it," he said.
He also alluded to several professors who said the free nutritious meal program would fail under his government. According to him, these dissenting voices always believe the government seeks mere political benefits through the MBG program, an accusation he denied.
Prabowo claimed political benefits were not considered in the implementation of his priority programs. "Politics is the will to improve the lives of the people in hardship," said Prabowo.