Prabowo Tells Stories about MBG, Danantara, to Eradicate Corruption in Front of US Entrepreneurs

JAKARTA - President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto explained the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, the formation of Danantara, to his commitment to eradicating corruption when speaking in front of American businessmen at the Business Forum at the US Chamber of Commerce Building, Washington D.C., Wednesday, February 18 local time.

At the forum attended by US business actors, Prabowo emphasized that his government is focused on providing real benefits to the people while creating a stable and reliable investment climate.

"We have carried out major projects designed to address the problem of the many children who face hunger and malnutrition. I am running a Free Nutritious Meal Program which I basically learned from American and European experiences. I understand that this is a real part of the democratization process. A real democracy must be able to feel the benefits directly by the community through education and health services," said Prabowo.

He explained that the MBG program not only has an impact on children's nutritional needs, but also encourages economic growth at the village level.

"We now have 23,000 kitchens, each kitchen employs 50 people in the village. Mothers who previously had no income, now have income. This program also creates demand in every village for eggs, chickens, vegetables, and tomatoes, so that farmers around have market guarantees. This creates a multiplier effect that creates a kind of economic explosion from below," he said.

In addition to MBG, Prabowo also introduced the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund named Danantara as part of the strategy for the downstreaming of national industries.

"We have just formed a new sovereign wealth fund called Danantara. All state assets have been consolidated into this investment management body to encourage industrial downstreaming," he said.

On the same occasion, Prabowo also touched on the issue of governance, including corruption practices and illegal economic activities. He acknowledged that these issues are long-standing challenges that must be faced seriously.

"We have problems with governance, corruption, and institutional weaknesses. A lot of smuggling is happening. There are many illegal economic activities such as illegal mining, illegal fishing, and illegal plantations in protected forests. This is a long-standing problem, but I choose to face it directly," he said.