Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto claims that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program in which there has been minimal poisoning cases has been a success. Earlier Prabowo said that the number of MBG poisoning victims was around 200 people and this figure is only a small portion of the total program recipients which has reached 3 million people.
"So it can be said that poisoning or those who had stomach discomfort amounted to 200 people, that's 200 or point three of so many million, if I'm not mistaken that's 0.005 percent. Meaning the success rate is 99.99 percent", he said during a cabinet meeting on Monday May 5.
Prabowo's claims of success have been criticised by Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Public Policy Director Media Wahyudi Iskandar.
According to Iskandar, the poisoning cases that have occurred should be used as evaluation material for the improvement of the MBG program, not just looking at the small number of poisonings compared with the total number of recipient of the program.
"It has happened repeatedly since January. The amount is significant. So it is not just hundreds, it could even be more if sifted through comprehensively. The government should acknowledge and improve this, not be in a hurry to claim success", Iskandar told Kompas.com on Tuesday May 6.
He emphasised that the MBG poisoning cases that have claimed up to 200 victims should not be considered mere statistics.
"Poisoning is not just about stale food. It concerns human lives. One life alone cannot be measured by statistics. It cannot be said to be only a small part of the whole", said Iskandar.
"It is very ironic because the statement came from the president. Ideally, the president explains something based on empirical data and evaluates policies with the right indicators", he continued.
He explained that the success indicators of the MBG program cannot only be measured by the number of beneficiaries or the amount of the budget disbursed. The success of the MBG program should be seen from the extent to which the program is on target, whether its implementation is running well and its impact on the recipient children.
"The impact must be seen from the nutritional side, learning motivation, and other aspects. If that cannot be proven, it cannot be claimed that the program is a success", said Iskandar.
Earlier, Prabowo claimed the success of the MBG program had reached 99.99 percent even though there were cases of poisoning in various regions.
Prabowo also compared the number of poisoning cases with the total number of MBG recipients, which is below 1 percent, so he considers the program successful even though it is not 100 percent.
- Prabowo claims free meals program 99.99% successful, dismisses poisoning cases. Kompas.com – May 5, 2025
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "0,005 Persen Kasus Keracunan MBG, Celios: Perbaiki, Bukan Klaim Sukses".]
