Coordinating Minister Muhaimin: Serious Government Will Improve The Implementation Of The MBG Program

Photo: Doc. Antara

Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar said the government was serious in evaluating and improving the implementation of the Free Nutritioning (MBG) program, and continued to listen and follow up on all public input.

"I and all levels of government are very concerned and convey my sympathy to the students and affected families. Public safety and health are our top priority. The government will not turn a blind eye to this incident," said Coordinating Minister Muhaimin Iskandar in Sleman, DIY, quoted by Antara, Saturday, September 27.

The evaluation and improvement efforts followed up on the direction of President Prabowo Subianto.

Muhaimin emphasized that the evaluation will be carried out thoroughly on the MBG implementation chain, starting from the provision of raw materials, processing, to distribution carried out by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) which must be ensured according to operational standards.

"The sanitary hygiene certificate, halal certification, and evidence of the use of water are suitable for use. That is an obligation that must be enforced in all MBG kitchens," he said.

Muhaimin Iskandar emphasized that the implementation of MBG not only provides free food to beneficiaries, but also ensures that every child gets hygienic, safe, and quality food.

On the other hand, Coordinating Minister Muhaimin emphasized that the government will continue the MBG program in the midst of a comprehensive evaluation effort.

This is because the sustainability of the MBG is considered important to achieve equal distribution of the nutritional improvement of the nation's children.

"MBG is the nation's future investment. We must not stop in the middle of the road. As the President said, this is an obstacle that we must face in the initial process of running a big program. The most important thing is that we must dare to improve and fix every process," said Muhaimin Iskandar.

According to him, MBG is the community nutrition education movement as the foundation for Indonesia's future toughness.

"We want the public to understand the importance of healthy intake and hygienic processing methods, so that children and families have the awareness to maintain a good diet," he added.

In addition, the MBG program also has the potential to become an ecosystem that accelerates community empowerment.

"We will continue to strive to maximize the potential for empowerment of the MBG program. Empower farmers, MSMEs, and local entrepreneurs involved, while ensuring the quality and safety of food within the chain," said Muhaimin Iskandar.

He believes that MBG is capable of becoming a mutual aid movement for the future of Indonesian children whose implementation must continue to be monitored.

"We invite all stakeholders, namely local governments, service providers, the business world, to the community to jointly maintain quality and security and improve the benefits of MBG," said Coordinating Minister Muhaimin Iskandar.