Top Review - Program Makan Siang Gratis Nasibmu Kini - [ Top News ]

Summary

The transcript discusses the challenges faced by Indonesia's 'Free Nutritional Meals Program,' which was initially allocated a budget of Rp60 trillion but now faces a reduction to Rp71 trillion for 2025. The program, aimed at providing nutritious meals to children, was renamed from 'Free Lunch Program' to 'Free Nutritious Meals.' Various aspects of the program, including financial constraints, are examined, with key discussions around reducing meal costs per child from Rp15,000 to Rp7,500. A visit to a local warung demonstrates the limitations of this budget, questioning whether the program can achieve its goals.

Takeaways

• 😀 The original plan for the free meal program was to allocate 60 trillion IDR annually but was later adjusted to 71 trillion IDR for 2025.
• 😀 The name of the program was changed from 'Free Lunch Program' to 'Free Nutritious Meal Program' to better reflect its goal of providing healthy meals.
• 😀 The program aims to provide nutritious meals for children from early childhood to high school, including 82.9 million individuals, with a focus on reaching as many children as possible.
• 😀 The budget allocation was reduced significantly, which raised concerns about the program’s ability to meet its original goals.
• 😀 The revised meal cost per child is set to 7,500 IDR per day, down from an initial target of 15,000 IDR.
• 😀 The government is exploring ways to keep the program effective while reducing the per-child meal cost, with options including cutting meal size or providing lower-cost meals.
• 😀 The free nutritious meal program is part of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran’s election promises, with the aim of supporting low-income children.
• 😀 The program will roll out gradually, starting with a 71 trillion IDR allocation in the 2025 RAPBN (National Budget Plan).
• 😀 The change in the program’s name to 'nutritious' was intended to emphasize the importance of healthful meals over simply providing free lunch.
• 😀 Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani confirmed the 71 trillion IDR allocation for 2025, marking a reduced budget compared to the initial 60 trillion IDR proposed.
• 😀 The limited budget has sparked discussions about the feasibility of offering substantial, healthy meals for children with such a small daily budget, especially in local food establishments like warteks.

Q & A

What is the reason for the change in the 'Free Lunch Program' name to 'Free Nutritious Meal Program'?

The name was changed to emphasize the provision of healthy food to children and to communicate a stronger message to the public. The goal remained to provide nutritious meals to children in Indonesia.

What was the initial budget planned for the Free Lunch Program, and how did it change?

Initially, the program had an allocated budget of IDR 60 trillion, but due to budget constraints, it was revised to IDR 71 trillion for 2025.

How did the allocation per child change as a result of budget constraints?

The allocation per child was reduced from IDR 15,000 per day to IDR 7,500 per day due to the revised budget allocation of IDR 71 trillion.

What was the reaction of economist Herianto Irawan regarding the revised budget for the program?

Herianto Irawan mentioned that the plan to cut the cost per child from IDR 15,000 to IDR 7,500 could be a way to maximize the impact of the program without increasing the budget, ensuring that it reached as many children as possible.

How many people were intended to benefit from the Free Nutritious Meal Program?

The program was designed to benefit 82.9 million people, including children from preschool to high school, as well as pregnant women and santri in Islamic boarding schools.

What was the government's stance on the feasibility of providing meals for IDR 7,500 per child?

Minister Muhajir Effendi noted that IDR 7,500 per child could be considered quite substantial in certain regions, but the question remained whether it would be sufficient to provide nutritious meals.

What kind of meal was available for IDR 7,500 in a typical local warteg?

At a local warteg, IDR 7,500 could buy a portion of white rice and tempeh orek (stir-fried tempeh), with no drink included, though a warm, unsweetened tea might be provided free of charge.

Why did the program's supporters argue in favor of providing free meals for children?

Supporters of the program argued that it would stimulate local economies, especially for women working in small restaurants or catering businesses, by injecting funds into local communities and creating more jobs.

What was the rationale behind reducing the cost per meal from IDR 15,000 to IDR 7,500?

The reduction was made to make the program more efficient and ensure that the allocated IDR 71 trillion could be distributed as widely as possible to benefit the maximum number of children.

What did President-elect Prabowo Subianto say about the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal Program?

President-elect Prabowo Subianto stated that the program would be implemented gradually, with the first phase in 2025 allocating IDR 71 trillion, which would be used to provide free nutritious meals to children across Indonesia.