President Prabowo: We Think Big Because Indonesia is Big (3-End)

President Prabowo Subianto explained his achievements and plans for reforms in the social sector to several editors-in-chief of national mass media at his residence, Padepokan Garudayaksa, Hambalang, Bogor Regency, Sunday (7/4/2025). The question-and-answer session titled "President Prabowo Answers" took place in the library room and lasted about four hours.

The President even joked about his administration, which until now has not known the word 'holiday.' Out of 150 days of his administration, some of the programs mentioned to have been implemented include the free nutritious meals program (MBG), free health check-ups, and the reduction of hajj costs.

Specifically, the MBG program has so far reached more than three million beneficiaries. President Prabowo estimates that by around October or November, the beneficiaries could reach 100 percent of the target of 82.9 million recipients.

Why bother with a fundamental issue like MBG?

If I want to feed a hungry child, what's wrong with that? I campaign in villages, I see this child is 5 years old. (When) I ask, no, he is 10 years old, his body is 5 years old, small, stunted.

Our stunting is tens of percent, what do we do? I'm not theoretical. I want to intervene.

Those who are rich, those who are quite well off, don't want to eat, that's okay. Give your food ration to those (who need it more).

This is something I cannot accept in my heart. There is a child who is given food, the egg is cut and wrapped. The teacher asks, why? For my sibling at home. There is a child who is given a package, but does not eat it. Why? My mother is at home, there is no rice at home. This cannot happen. I cannot accept this. As a leader, as a patriot, this is not the Republic I have defended since my youth.

So I will fight hard so that no one is hungry in the Republic of Indonesia. I will work as hard as I can.

How to divert capital expenditure and goods expenditure in the APBN which reaches IDR 300 trillion, so that economic growth does not slow down?

With the reallocation, there will be a slowdown. However, it will later be compensated because what we save will still be directed toward the targets we aim for. What we save are things we are already certain would be lost, lost due to small, medium, and large-scale corruption.

In this sense, official trips abroad, if necessary, must be (removed). But, I sent Coordinating Minister Airlangga to Washington, then the Minister of Finance, you represent us (Indonesia) at the G20, that is necessary. But if the group goes for this comparative study, that comparative study, right? Come on.

We can save tens of trillions just from official travel expenses. We saved Rp 22 trillion. For school renovations, 17,000 schools, if I’m not mistaken, that amounts to Rp 19 trillion. So, with Rp 22 trillion, we can renovate 19,000 schools.

For example, I have declared that this year we will open 200 public boarding schools, from elementary to high school, specifically for the lowest economic groups. If I am not mistaken, the 10th-11th decile or the 9th-10th decile. This is to break the chain of poverty. If the father is poor, the mother is poor, the child must not be poor, let alone the grandchild. We will educate the child, and they will later lift their parents out of poverty.

That is our strategy. We are ambitious.We think big, grand because Indonesia is big. If we think small, if we are small-hearted, the result will not be (big).

We estimate that one school may need Rp150 billion and we ask the local government to prepare the land. We will build (with a budget) from the central (government), but the district looks for land. I ask for 20 hectares if possible, at least 5 (hectares), if possible 20 hectares. The regents are willing because they know this will help their lowest people.

There, if another child goes to school in the morning and (later) goes home, he will have one meal a day which is paid for by the state.

This lowest child, he will be in a boarding school, he will eat three times. He will live in an orderly environment. We educate him to be confident, don't feel inferior. Your future must not be broken by circumstances. We have to do that, we have to interfere. We must be brave, even, in my opinion, we must, yes, sometimes, we must be a bit reckless.

However, President Prabowo has not been able to confirm whether he will be able to achieve his plan to establish 200 people's schools every year.

"I don't know if I can do it or not, but let's plan it first. Usually, Bung Karno (said), hang your dreams as high as the sky. If you don't reach it, at least you fall among the stars," Prabowo quoted the first President of the Republic of Indonesia.

The President also mentioned that free nutritious meals are also implemented in India, Brazil, and the United States. This has even been implemented in these countries for a long time.

According to the President, from the experience of these countries, feeding children is an instrument of democratization. "Because doing so means equality. And, it can reduce poverty. So what is wrong?," he said.

How is the implementation of MBG monitored to prevent corruption?

Supervision is very important. That's why we educate managers. And because of that, I ask all institutions around to supervise. One, I ask the Kodim Commander to supervise. The police chief supervises, the sub-district head supervises, the district supervises, the school principals supervise. So the principal, if he sees that the food is not right, quickly report it. Right?

Sometimes there is, force majeure, there was a power outage. The refrigerator, freezer, went out. How many hours, the meat is no longer good, right? But, because there is a manager, once informed, he came, immediately replaced with other food.

And, we have caught several incidents, well it's natural, right? Those who work in the kitchen, were caught bringing it wrapped. We can already know, right, how much the chicken was cut. The problem of eggs. This is my experience, if an omelet is given, well this is not good. Because we are not necessarily sure that the omelet is one egg, (for) one person. The omelet can be for three people, one egg.

Can be given flour, right? So, when I checked, what I checked that day, there was an omelet. Not again, okay. Must be boiled eggs or fried eggs. So, whole, right? Whole, one. Right? This is the tendency of kitchens, they want omelets.

If the food is too black, the cooking oil has been used many times. So, we conduct an inspection. I can't be fooled. I'm concerned. But what makes me sad is, (if) I come to a village or an area, later there will be mothers coming, 'Sir, the neighboring village has been able to eat nutritious food, our village hasn't'.

Oh, be patient, ma'am. This is state money.

Yesterday, I was excited again. Why? I met the former President of Brazil, Mrs. Dilma Rousseff. She said, Brazil to feed their children, if I'm not mistaken, only 30 million were fed, it took eleven years. We are 82 million in one year. Right?

Is this giant program possible?

Yes. Because we use the principle of organization. If the organization is good, it just needs replication. And we have one more thing that is considered, noticed by people. We deliver food to pregnant women. We deliver food (for) pregnant women.

Yes. Maybe in the whole world, maybe (only) us. I don't know about other countries. But what's great is Mr. Dadan's (Head of the National Nutrition Agency) initiative. It turns out that BKKBN (National Population and Family Planning Agency), they have officers in the village. Family planning counselors. So now the additional task of the family planning counselors, they take food from the kitchen, they deliver it to pregnant women.

How can you ensure that the report that comes to you is not just a report that Prabowo just likes, Sir?

We have managers who are graduates that we have trained. And BGN has a system. Every 4 pm, all managers report online. There is a coordinator. Reporting arrangements. Every afternoon at 4 pm. And we also have SPPI. It turns out that many of the SPPI are women.

So they are reactive. We instill, don't report ABS because it is dangerous. Because this is the fate of children.

And you can imagine, some of them had worked for three months without getting paid. Yes. Yesterday. Oh, I was touched. But idealism, for them this is a noble thing to serve the children. So some sleep in the kitchen. There is space in the kitchen. If they eat, they are safe, right? Some even, I heard, sold their motorbikes.

Another achievement mentioned by the President is the free health check program. According to the President, health checks would be better than waiting for people to get sick. Because, many diseases are easier to treat if they are detected early. The cost is also lower.

In addition, another achievement is the national socio-economic single data (DTSEN).

"For the first time in history we now have single data, single national socio-economic data. So now we can know exactly where the poor people live, where their family members are, by name by address. We already have this and I also hope that later we can verify it, we can check it so that the aid is right on target," said the President.