Bandung. President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday hit back at critics who have called for the suspension of his flagship Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program following mass food poisoning cases, saying the initiative remains overwhelmingly successful and has drawn international recognition.

Speaking at the National University of the Republic of Indonesia (UKRI) in Bandung, West Java, Prabowo acknowledged reports of food-related illnesses among some recipients but urged the public to look at the broader impact of the program, which he said has benefited 36.2 million Indonesians and created thousands of jobs.

“Some people keep mocking this program and highlighting every difficulty or mistake,” Prabowo said. “It’s true that some children got stomach aches or food poisoning, but critics exaggerate the issue as if the entire program must be stopped.”

Prabowo said the government has distributed around 1.4 billion meal portions under the MBG initiative, which aims to tackle malnutrition and poverty through daily meal distribution in schools and communities across the archipelago.

“Statistically, only about 0.0007 or 0.0008 percent of all meals led to poisoning cases,” he said. “That means the program has a 99.99 percent success rate. How can anyone call something that’s 99.99 percent successful a failure?”

Prabowo has ordered all kitchens participating in the program to be equipped with food safety test kits, following a series of food poisoning incidents that have affected more than 6,500 students nationwide since January.

The president added that Indonesia’s MBG program has become a model for other countries. He cited recent discussions with the Rockefeller Institute, which he said has recognized the program’s scale and ambition.

“When we started, only 77 countries had implemented similar programs. Indonesia was the 78th or 79th,” Prabowo said. “Now, 112 countries are running similar initiatives, and many have followed our example.”

According to Prabowo, Indonesia’s program has outpaced similar efforts in larger nations. He noted that Brazil, which pioneered a comparable free meal policy, took 11 years to reach 40 million beneficiaries, while Indonesia achieved nearly that scale in just one year.

“Alongside Brazil and India, Indonesia is seen as one of the boldest and fastest nations in implementing such a program,” he said. “We’ve become a global example.”

The MBG initiative is one of Prabowo’s signature social welfare policies, designed to improve child nutrition, reduce poverty, and stimulate local food production. Despite recent scrutiny over isolated food safety incidents, the administration has pledged to continue expanding the program nationwide.

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