Jakarta – The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) has emphasized that the Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG) does not use education funds as alleged in a lawsuit challenging the 2026 State Budget (APBN) at the Constitutional Court (MK). Commission X of the DPR confirmed that, to date, it has found no allocation of education funds being diverted to finance the program.
The lawsuit was filed by an honorary teacher from Karawang, West Java, Reza Sudrajat, against Law Number 17 of 2025 concerning the 2026 State Budget. During the preliminary hearing of Case Number 55/PUU-XXIV/2026, chaired by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo, the petitioner argued that the constitutionally mandated 20 percent allocation for education in the state budget had been siphoned off to fund the MBG program.
Responding to the claim, Deputy Chair of Commission X of the DPR, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, firmly stated that the allegation was unsubstantiated.
“The MBG program that is currently running does not use the education budget. For further explanation, please coordinate with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN),” Lalu said.
He added that, so far, Commission X has not found any indication that education funds have been used for the program.
“We in Commission X have not found any education budget being used for MBG,” added the PKB politician.
Lalu stressed that from the outset, his commission had cautioned against allocating education funds for other programs, except for efforts aimed at improving teachers’ welfare. Therefore, he said, the assumption that education funds were being used for MBG lacks any factual basis.
He also assured that the DPR supports the government in continuing the MBG program, which is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority initiatives.
“MBG was not conceived overnight; it has been planned for a long time and has become one of his (Prabowo’s) priority programs. We are confident it will not disrupt the education budget,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Prof. Abdul Mu’ti, emphasized that the education budget has not been reduced due to MBG. In fact, he stated that his ministry’s budget ceiling has been strengthened through an Additional Budget Allocation (ABT).
“The budget is actually larger after MBG, because the President will increase it. That is why the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has proposed an additional budget allocation,” Mu’ti explained.
The government recorded that the allocation for education in the 2026 State Budget increased to Rp769.1 trillion, up from Rp757.8 trillion previously. Thus, both the DPR and the government have affirmed that the MBG program operates without cutting education funding, while ensuring that the commitment to improving the quality of education remains intact.
