Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto recently responded to the ongoing debate over the possibility of using zakat to fund his mammoth-sized school feeding program, saying that the government is ready to work with the state budget that they have allocated.

In Islam, Muslims must donate a portion of their wealth to the poor and other charitable causes in a practice better known as zakat. Indonesia is the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, thus making zakat into a large pool of money.

Prabowo wants to feed Indonesian school kids and expectant mothers across the country nutritious meals to improve the population’s nutritional intake. But such a program -- which already had its first dish rollout last week -- requires huge logistical effort and funding. 

Earlier this week, Regional Representative Council speaker Sultan B Najamuddin suggested that Indonesia could use zakat to fund Prabowo’s free meal program. Opinions are split over the possible zakat funding. Presidential Chief of Staff AM Putranto called the idea "very embarrassing". The National Alms Agency (Baznas) said the body did not mind the use of zakat as long as they could make sure that the money was going into preparing the meals for kids of low-income families. As the debate heated up, Prabowo finally shared his thoughts.

“Well, there is someone who already takes care of how the zakat should be distributed,” Prabowo said in Jakarta on Thursday, alluding to Baznas.

Prabowo said: “But the government is ready to implement this [free nutritious meal] program. Indonesian kids must have access to nutrient-rich meals this year.”

The president said that he would open doors for regional governments -- including governors and regents -- to fund the program. “We are open for anyone who wishes to back [the free meal program], as long as it is efficient, on the target, and leak-proof.”

The government has already decided that they would spend no more than Rp 71 trillion (approximately $4.3 billion)  for the free meal program in the 2025 fiscal year. The government launched the budget-heavy school-feeding program not long ago with approximately 570,000 kids getting fed on the first day. Indonesia aims to feed 15 million individuals, including expectant mothers, by the end of this year. The nutrient-dense meal will eventually reach 82.9 million people in 2029.

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