National Nutrition Agency to Submit MBG Budget Plan to Finance Ministry Post Court Ruling

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) will present its budget scheme for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to the Ministry of Finance, following a Constitutional Court ruling that prohibits using the 20% education budget for the initiative. BGN head Sudaryono affirmed that as an operational government agency, BGN will comply with any state decisions.

"I am an implementer. The budget allocation is handled by the budget committee, the Ministry of Finance, and so on. So, we are the implementers of the budget," Sudaryono explained during a press conference at the BGN office in Central Jakarta on Friday, May 31, 2026. He expressed regret over the perception that the MBG program is draining state funds. Sudaryono argued that before the MBG program, state funds were not effectively utilized for educational improvements.

He further elaborated, "Before MBG, schools were damaged, had holes, all sorts of things. It's not because Prabowo became president, there's MBG, then the schools suddenly became damaged. No. Where were they before?" Sudaryono suggested that if the logic linking MBG to damaged schools were true, all such schools should have been repaired long before the program existed.

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I am an implementer. The budget allocation is handled by the budget committee, the Ministry of Finance, and so on. So, we are the implementers of the budget.

Previously, the Constitutional Court partially granted a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Article 22, paragraph (3) of Law Number 17 of 2025 concerning the State Budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year. The Yayasan Taman Belajar (TB) Nusantara, the plaintiff, argued that funding MBG through the education budget in the 2026 State Budget violated Article 31, paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution, which mandates at least 20% of the state budget for education.

Constitutional Court Justice Enny Nurbaningsih stated that the MBG program's funding must be separated from the operational definition of education provision, thus no longer utilizing the education budget allocation. The court mandated this separation to be completed by the 2028 State Budget at the latest, though it suggested an earlier completion by the 2027 State Budget. Minister Secretary of State Prasetyo Hadi indicated that the central government would study the decision, emphasizing the need for discussion with the legislature regarding budget allocation. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Prisons, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, confirmed the government's intention to adhere to the Constitutional Court's ruling.

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Before MBG, schools were damaged, had holes, all sorts of things. It's not because Prabowo became president, there's MBG, then the schools suddenly became damaged. No. Where were they before?