February 20, 2024
JAKARTA – The campaign team for Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka has toned down public expectations about one of its key election promises, explaining that the free lunch and milk will initially be handed out only to children in disadvantaged rural regions.
The rollout of the program is expected to begin once an administration led by Prabowo and Gibran, who won last week’s presidential election according to preliminary results, assumes office in October 2024, CNN Indonesia has reported.
The Prabowo-Gibran ticket clinched about 58 percent of the vote based on the unofficial counts. The free lunch program featured prominently in their election campaign.
Drajad H. Wibowo, a member of the Prabowo-Gibran campaign team, stated that the free lunch and milk program, which was aimed at 82.9 million schoolchildren, would be implemented gradually, with rural areas given priority.
“We’re starting with the rural areas and moving on from there. We’re doing it gradually, so we won’t be delivering free lunch and milk to all 82.9 million youngsters at once. If we gave everyone free lunch and milk at the same time, it would not be feasible with our budget,” Drajad said on Monday, as reported by CNN Indonesia.
Drajad elaborated that the current objective was for the free lunch program to target 30 to 40 percent of the target population with free lunch and milk. However, the specific numbers would be announced when Prabowo and Gibran are in office.
“So, [the free lunch and milk] will not be delivered to 82.9 million people immediately […], but definitely within five years in office, 100 percent of the 82.9 million target […] will be realized,” he said.
Drajad further explained that, currently, the budget for each lunch box was estimated at Rp 15,000 (96 US cents), and the authorities would ensure that each box was filled with sufficient protein and nutritional value.
Previously, Prabowo said a free lunch program was needed to tackle the country’s high prevalence of childhood malnutrition and stunting.
Drajad added that Prabowo, who currently serves as defense minister, intended to establish a specialized team for the free lunch and milk initiative. While the distribution plan was still being refined; the products would be either distributed directly to schools or to local government authorities for redistribution to individuals.
“The free lunch and milk program will most likely be regulated by the provincial or regional governments, although it could also be governed by the central government. What’s crucial is that there’s egg, chicken and beef, but they won’t be presented together,” he said.