Need Political Will Strong To Shift The Absorption Of The Lelet MBG Budget

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive served selfie requests after attending the inauguration ceremony of a number of state officials at the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (8/10/2025). (ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi)

JAKARTA The plan of the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Purbaya Yudhi Sadiveh took the rest of the budget for a free nutritious eating program or MBG that was not absorbed received support.

President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program is back in the spotlight, this time in terms of absorption which is considered slow even though it has been almost a year.

MBG has a budget of IDR 71 trillion this year. However, based on data from the Directorate General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy (DJSEF) of the Ministry of Finance, until early September several budget realizations for priority programs such as MBG and People's Schools were still far from the target.

The realization of the budget for MBG until September 8, 2025, has only reached Rp. 13 trillion or only 18.3 percent of the Rp. 71 trillion ceiling.

Minister of Finance Purbaya said he would cut the MBG program if the absorption did not improve. The Ministry of Finance has given a deadline until October, if the absorption is good then the budget can be increased and vice versa.

"We'll see what it looks like at the end of October, if it can be absorbed, that's fine. If for example it adds, but the distribution is good, then add it. If it can't be absorbed until the end of December, we will reduce the existing funds. That's all," said Purbaya.

Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan immediately responded by asking the Minister of Finance Purbaya not to revoke or cut the budget for the MBG program. He ensured that the absorption of the budget would improve.

Since the beginning of serving as the state treasurer, Minister of Finance Purbaya has indeed paid special attention to the slow absorption of the MBG budget. According to the prediction, the Rp71 trillion budget will not be fully absorbed in 2025.

Purbaya himself said that he did not want any state money to be unemployed. For this reason, the distribution of the MBG budget that is not absorbed to other posts that are beneficial to the community may be carried out.

The state treasurer's plan to cut the unabsorbed MBG budget received a positive response from the Director of Fiscal Policy Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Media Wahyudi Askar. He emphasized that when the budget is not absorbed, it means that the economy does not rotate, because the money does not rotate below. This situation is very much anticipated, considering that the MBG program costs quite a lot of state money while the absorption is still minimal.

"With three more months remaining in the hope of pursuing economic growth above five percent, it is clear that the Minister of Finance must optimize the existing budget," said the Media.

"So efforts to take the current MBG budget that has not been effective and has not been absorbed deserve thumbs up, at least to increase the effectiveness of public spending," he continued.

Instead of settling the budget in the ministry's account, the Media thinks it would be better if the MBG budget that was not absorbed was reallocated for other purposes such as wage subsidy assistance, MSME subsidy assistance, or the labor-intensive sector of small infrastructure.

However, to do this, cross-sectoral cooperation is needed, including the National Nutrition Agency can provide clear planning.

Programs with low absorption, not only MBG, must be properly identified with the details of each rupiah, then shifted to other programs that have a direct impact on small communities, of course with clear output matrix, media explained.

It takes a strong political will to shift this unabsorbed budget. about MBG, for example, rather than being forced to be absorbed," he added.

Providing cash subsidies and wage subsidy assistance can be a quick strategy to divert unabsorbed budgets because they go directly into people's pockets. The government has done the same thing in 2021, when the remaining budget at the end of the year is distributed to BST and BSU.

Public Policy Observer Muhammad Gumarang said that Minister of Finance Purbaya's move to withdraw the remaining funds from the MBG budget was a professional and fiscal appropriate decision. Not only that, this policy also shows Purbaya's firmness and independence in maintaining state financial governance.

Purbaya's attitude to keep withdrawing MBG funds that are not absorbed is the right step. He shows himself as a professional Minister of Finance, has no political affiliation, and works based on scientific principles and budget management regulations," said Gumarang in his statement.

Gumarang explained that funds that were not absorbed or called the Remainder of the More Budget (SAL) had been regulated in Law Number 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance and Law Number 2004 2004 concerning State Treasury.

The funds can be reused, but with values reduced or transferred to other programs, or used to cover the budget deficit. Gumarang assessed that the Minister of Finance Purbaya's decision to reject Luhut's request that the MBG SALe not be withdrawn reflected strong fiscal discipline.

Rejecting LBP's request is a step that is entirely within the realm of the authority of the Ministry of Finance. This decision shows that Purbaya carries out its duties according to the law and fiscal vision of the government to encourage economic growth through the absorption of the maximum budget," concluded Gumarang.