Minister of Finance: MBG Holiday During Eid to Save the Budget

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program that was postponed during Eid al-Fitr could save the budget of several trillion rupiah.

"The chairman of MBG has reported, right? He said that the holiday would be suspended, he said. It saves quite a few trillion. He said, I've read it too," said Minister of Finance Purbaya when met at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, March 19, reported by ANTARA.

"So those who go on vacation will not get MBG, it's quite economical. Later, when it's normal again," he added.

Purbaya referred to the statement of the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana who stated that the MBG Program would be suspended during Eid al-Fitr and could save the budget by around Rp. 5 trillion.

In a statement on Tuesday (17/3), the Head of BGN said the distribution of MBG to schools was stopped since March 13, 2026 and the delivery for pregnant women, breastfeeding and toddlers was last carried out on March 17, 2026.

He said the MBG Program would be redistributed to recipients by March 31, 2026.

"That is approximately Rp5 trillion saved in that way," he said.

Dadan also explained that on March 18-24, no MBG distribution was carried out for all target beneficiaries, both students and non-students. As a substitute, distribution was carried out earlier.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance also conveyed on Monday (16/3) that there was still room for budget efficiency from the MBG program which had a ceiling of Rp. 335 trillion.

Purbaya said MBG was a good program because it helped many people, especially the lower classes. However, according to him, the implementation of the MBG program can still be optimized.

"MBG will be streamlined, the way they spend it. I think MBG is a good program because not everyone is rich. Only the implementation is optimized," said Purbaya.

Currently, the Minister of Finance is also preparing a budget efficiency plan for a number of ministries/institutions as one of the efforts to maintain the deficit of the State Budget (APBN) for the 2026 Fiscal Year below three percent.