Jakarta – Chairman of the Budget Committee (Banggar) of the People’s Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI), Said Abdullah, responded to the condition of the 2026 State Budget (APBN), which is facing various global pressures, including rising tensions related to conflicts in the Middle East.
In this situation, he emphasized that the government needs to sharpen its spending priorities so that programs considered essential can continue to run optimally.
Said stated that amid global economic uncertainty, the government must evaluate a number of development programs to ensure that state budget utilization remains efficient and well targeted.
“One example is projects that are not very urgent, such as toll road development. Perhaps those can be temporarily postponed. In reality, many toll road projects are multi-year projects, so delaying them could help strengthen the government’s fiscal reserves as a precaution,” Said said at the parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta.
According to him, several development programs that are not immediately urgent could be delayed temporarily to maintain the country’s fiscal resilience.
However, amid efforts to refine budget priorities, Said stressed that national priority programs in the education sector must continue to be implemented. One program he described as non-negotiable is the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program, which is part of the government’s strategic policy under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto.
“If MBG falls under the mandatory education budget cluster, then it must be implemented. It is non-negotiable. Since it is part of the education budget, it is obligatory,” Said said.
He explained that the MBG program falls under the category of mandatory spending in the education sector. Therefore, the program must continue because it is directly related to efforts to improve the quality of Indonesia’s human resources through better nutrition for students.
Nevertheless, Said also emphasized the importance of oversight to ensure that the implementation of the MBG program in the field runs effectively and delivers maximum benefits to the public.
“Of course, improvements in governance on the ground are necessary. But legally it remains mandatory because it is part of the education sector,” he added.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of budget realization, the government has recorded a significant increase in state spending related to priority programs. Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara reported that government spending on goods during January–February 2026 reached Rp67.6 trillion, representing a 26.4 percent increase compared with the same period the previous year.
Political support from the DPR for the program also indicates that the MBG initiative is viewed as a strategic policy that not only focuses on social welfare but also contributes to long-term human resource development.