Free Nutrition Program (MBG) Impacts and Incidents
📌 As of Tuesday noon, the number of students poisoned by the MBG program in Cipongkor, West Bandung, reached 364 students, with symptoms including severe headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, and intense epigastric pain.
🏥 Total reported poisoning victims related to the MBG program reached over 16,000 people across Indonesia by November 2025.
🍽️ The peak period for MBG-related poisonings occurred between August and October 2025, coinciding with the program's acceleration.
📉 West Java contributed the highest number of victims, with over 4,000 cases.

Budget Allocation and Fiscal Policy Conflict
💰 The MBG program for 2025 was allocated IDR 71 trillion from the National Budget (APBN), sourced partly by diverting education funds managed by the National Nutrition Agency.
✂️ President Prabowo implemented efficiency measures, including cutting regional transfer funds for national priority programs like MBG, leading to fiscal strain in local governments.
📈 The MBG budget is set to increase drastically to IDR 335 trillion in 2026, consuming 67% of the education budget and 7% of the health budget, threatening essential public services.

Economic Hardship and Local Resistance
👵 Sugiati, a farmer in Pati, stopped planting corn after yields dropped from 119 sacks to only 10 sacks due to pests, forcing her to take supplementary sewing work.
👨‍🏫 Agustinus, an honorary teacher in NTT, saw his salary cut from IDR 600,000 to IDR 221,000 per month due to reduced Dana BOS (School Operational Assistance) allocations for non-civil servant teachers.
📉 In Pati Regency, local governments responded to reduced regional income by increasing Property Tax (PBB) tariffs by up to 250%, placing an immediate financial burden on residents during economic hardship.
✊ Resistance in Pati, initially against the PBB hike, escalated to calls for the Regent's resignation after citizens experienced repression and violence during protests.

Allegations of Conflict of Interest and Repression
🔗 An audit identified 102 foundations managing MBG, with 28 allegedly affiliated with political parties and 9 linked to pro-Prabowo volunteer groups from the election period.
📊 MBG Service Provider Units (SPPGs) distribution showed a significant concentration in three regions believed to be Prabowo and Gibran's strongholds during the 2024 election.
🚨 Government response to massive public protests (over 112 actions across 33 provinces) involved significant repression, resulting in over 6,000 arrests and 12 fatalities between late August and early September 2025.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The focus on MBG, consuming vast budget shares (e.g., 67% of education funds in 2026), is criticized for eroding fundamental rights and impacting essential sectors like education and teacher welfare.
➡️ Local food sovereignty advocates suggest that relying on local, traditional food sources (like those practiced by Orpa in South Central Timor) offers safer, more nutritious, and sustainable nutrition than the centralized, problematic MBG system.
➡️ Victims and parents suggest replacing the meal provision with direct cash transfers to parents (e.g., an estimated IDR 10,000 per student per week) to allow for safer, home-cooked alternatives.
➡️ The mobilization against unfair policies, exemplified by the Pati residents, demonstrates the power of collective civilian action in demanding governmental accountability, even against official repression.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Dec 26, 2025, 06:38 UTC