Social Minister Suggests Elderly To Get MBG, Commission IX Of The DPR Asks For An Optimization Of The MBG Program

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives Arzeti Bilbina, supports the proposal of Minister of Social Affairs Syaifullah Yusuf regarding the expansion of the free nutritious food target (MBG) to the elderly and people with disabilities.

However, according to him, the government must first optimize the management of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program, considering that currently there are still many cases of poisoning and stale food.

"Of course we support if the MBG program not only targets school students and pregnant women, but also people with disabilities and the elderly. However, we ask that the program currently running with the target of students and pregnant women be optimized," Arzeti told reporters, Friday, October 7.

"This includes minimizing the potential for poisoning and stale eating that occurs a lot in various regions," he continued.

Arzeti reminded that currently the MBG program is in the spotlight from many circles, the impact of cases of poisoning to basic food. In fact, this case made a number of parents reject MBG's gift to their children.

"These cases should be the focus of program improvement. Do not then appear a proposal to expand the target first," said the PKB legislator from the East Java electoral district.

According to Arzeti, the case of food poisoning that occurred during the implementation of the MBG program had injured President Prabowo's mandate, which wanted Indonesian children to get nutritious food.

Moreover, there were also cases of loss of account worth Rp. 1 billion belonging to the SPPG in Batujajar, Bandung, West Java which also affected the cessation of operations to provide MBG in the area.

Arzeti hopes that, before the MBG program is extended to other beneficiaries, governance problems must be resolved so that they do not happen again.

"We are optimistic, with the MBG program, the benefits will be felt by future generations. However, ensuring that everything goes smoothly and is on target is a top priority," he said.

Arzeti also assessed that if this program is extended to the elderly and people with disabilities, the risk of poisoning and other governance problems is expected to be minimized.

"We don't want any more incidents that harm not only children, but also the elderly and people with disabilities. Therefore, we ask that the entire management process run safely and orderly," he concluded.

Previously, the proposal to give MBG to the elderly and people with disabilities was submitted by the Minister of Social Affairs, Syaifullah Yusuf, Tuesday, November 4. This proposal has been submitted by Syaifullah Yusuf to President Prabowo Subianto.

Gus Ipul said that this program will target around 100,000 elderly and more than 30,000 people with disabilities.