March 17, 2026 | 05:31 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that the government will implement budget efficiency measures while maintaining the state budget deficit for 2026. However, the budget for flagship programs, including Free Nutritious Meal (MBG), will not be cut.
Airlangga stated that free nutritious meals are an investment. "There are no changes to the budget for flagship programs. Everything will continue to run because it is a long-term investment," he said during a gathering with the media at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy Office, Jakarta, on Monday, March 16, 2026.
According to Airlangga, President Prabowo Subianto has instructed to keep the state budget deficit below 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He has also coordinated with ministries and institutions to calculate the extent of state spending that will be reduced.
The total amount of savings is not final and will be determined by the president. "However, along with the Minister of Finance and several ministers from major ministries/agencies, we have prepared what can be made more efficient," he said.
Previously, the option of widening the state budget deficit (APBN) arose to face the long-running impact of the Iran-Israel war. However, in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg titled "Prabowo Open to Breach Indonesia Deficit Cap Only During Crisis," Prabowo referred to the fiscal deficit limit as a tool to help the government remain cautious in formulating and implementing budget policies.
Awalil Rizky, senior economist at the Bright Institute, stated that if President Prabowo's desire for greater thrift is consistently implemented, it would help address some issues. However, it may not be sufficient for the current situation.
Another available option with more measured risks is to cut priority programs with large budgets. These include the MBG, Red and White Village Cooperatives, and defense and security spending. If necessary, government bureaucracy could be restructured, such as reducing the number of ministries/agencies. "Increasing the deficit and borrowing heavily is not the right choice," said Rizky.
This year, the government has allocated Rp335 trillion for the MBG program, an increase from last year's Rp71 trillion. The significant budget for free nutritious meals in 2026 is used to reach the target of benefiting 82.9 million people.
As of March 9, 2026, the Ministry of Finance reported that the budget for the MBG program has been realized, amounting to Rp44 trillion. This allocation has reached 61.62 million recipients.
Read: Prabowo Says Free Nutritious Meal Program Drives Growth at Grassroots
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