Prabowo: 58 Million Free Meal Beneficiaries Equal 9 Times Singapore's Population

January 12, 2026 | 11:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is boasting about the free nutritious meal program (MBG) once again. According to Prabowo, his priority program has reached 58 million beneficiaries.

Prabowo claimed that the number is equivalent to feeding 9 times the population of Singapore. He mentioned this when delivering a speech at the inauguration of Pertamina's oil refinery project in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Initially, the head of state stated that he does not like to make promises. "So maybe I'm accused of being uncommunicative. But now I've proven it," said Prabowo on Monday, January 12, 2026, as monitored through a live broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.

Prabowo claims the MBG program as one of his successes. "Today we have reached 58 million beneficiaries. If Singapore's population is 6 million, it means we are feeding 9 Singapores. We feed 9 Singapores every day," said Prabowo.

Prabowo stated that this achievement has been realized more quickly compared to other countries with similar programs. He claimed that Brazil took 11 years to reach 41 million beneficiaries. Meanwhile, he said Indonesia was able to reach more than 50 million beneficiaries in a year.

The Chair of the Gerindra Party also believes that the set target of 82.9 million beneficiaries can be achieved this year. "A country that is always considered incapable, we can feed 58 million people every day, including pregnant women and elderly, delivering meals to their homes. Not bad," said Prabowo.

Prabowo Subianto repeatedly stated the success of the MBG program. Most recently, on Tuesday, January 6, 2025, Prabowo claimed that the success rate of the MBG program reached 99 percent based on the evaluation results. He conveyed this during the Red and White Cabinet retreat at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java.

Member of MBG Watch, Galau D. Muhammad, said that the claim is not in line with various problems that have occurred in the field. Starting from mass poisoning cases to the management of the program, which is considered chaotic and non-transparent.

Galau said that to date, the government has not publicly disclosed a comprehensive evaluation of the MBG. The information presented to the public, he said, only goes as far as the quantity of beneficiaries and success narratives without clear objective indicators. "What we receive is only glorification of success. It has never been explained transparently which indicators are used to call this program effective," said Galau when contacted on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.

Dinda Shabrina contributed to this article

Read: JPPI: Over 1,000 Children Poisoned by Free Nutritious Meals in January 2026

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