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Elections: Free Lunches For All, But Where’s the Money/Doctors Coming From?

“After all national resilience starts with healthy children, not with the number of hospital claims caused by food poisoning.”

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3–4 minutes
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Where’s the Lunch Budget Coming From?

Tempo Magazine, March 10, 2024

“A number of ministries have designed free lunch programs worth hundreds of trillions of rupiah (billions of dollars). Like carts running before their horses.”

THE MENU for the trial free lunch program at Curug No. 2 State Junior Middle School in Banten province’s Tangerang Regency provided on February 29, 2024, was quite complete. There was siomai, gado-gado steamed vegetable salad, rice and chicken rames, and rice and rames stew with eggs prepared for students in four classes. Each portion of the menu was priced at Rp. 15,000 ($US1) and it is claimed it contained a nutritional content combining carbohydrates and protein, as well as vegetables and fruit.

In the trial conducted by the Tangerang regency government, each class received one lunch menu. The committee bought the food from traders around the school and packed it in students’ food boxes which were then distributed during break times.

The trial was the Tangerang regency government’s interpretation of the planned free lunch program that became a major election promise of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates Gen. (Hon.) (Retd.) Prabowo Subianto and Mr. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, President Joko Widodo’s eldest son and mayor of the Central Java city of Solo. Even though the pair have yet to be declared the winner by the national General Election Commission, President Joko Widodo and his ministers have discussed the campaign program at a meeting at the State Palace, Jakarta, on February 26, 2024. Investment Minister Mr. Bahlil Lahadalia, who was present at the meeting, said that the free lunch program would be accommodated in the 2025 national budget.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto tastes food at a trial of a free lunch program at No. 2 Curug State Junior Secondary School, Tangerang Regency, Banten, 29 February 2024. Antara/Sulthony Hasanuddin Dari Mana Anggaran Makan Siang? – Ekonomi dan Bisnis – majalah.tempo.co

Also present for the trial at Curug No. 2 State Junior Secondary School was Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Mr. Airlangga Hartarto, acting Regent of Tangerang Mr. Andi Ony, expert from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs who is also a former Regent of Tangerang district Mr. Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, and other officials. Mr. Airlangga said the trial was an initiative of the regional government and the school. “The school volunteered, it wanted to go first,” he said… This article is based on https://majalah.tempo.co/read/ekonomi-dan-bisnis/171046/kajian-makan-siang-gratis.

In earlier news…

January 4, 2024

Prabowo Opens Possibility of Importing 1.5 Million Cows for His Free Milk Program for Children

By CNN Indonesia, January 4, 2024

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia — Indonesian presidential election candidate Mr. Prabowo Subianto has opened the possibility of importing millions of dairy cows to meet the needs of his promised free milk program for children.

He estimates that he will import around 1.5 million cows to meet the need for free milk for 82 million Indonesian children. “So, we may have to import 1 million or 1.5 million cows. In two years, when they breed, we will have 3 million head. That’s roughly our strategy,” said Prabowo, while attending an Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) discussion at the Press Council Building in Central Jakarta on Thursday (4/1). Read more at https://www.cnnindonesia.com/economic/20240104173642-532-1045363/prabowo-buka-opsi-import- 15-million-cows-make-milk-free-children program

***

December 21, 2023

Prabowo-Gibran tout Rp. 450 trillion ($US30b) free lunch program, Where’s the money coming from?

By Fitria Chusna Farisa for Kompas.com, December 21, 2023

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The free lunch program for children is one of the things being touted by presidential candidate and his vice presidential running mate Mr. Prabowo Subianto and Mr. Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Deputy head of their campaign team board of experts, Mr. Budiman Sudjatmiko, said, through the program Prabowo-Gibran are trying to improve Indonesia’s human resources (HR). “So Mr. Prabowo is indeed human-oriented.

Of course, physical infrastructure has been built and improved, so human resources also need to be developed,” said Mr. Budiman at a national meeting to consolidation of the Prabowo-Gibran campaign digital volunteers team held at Dharmawangsa in Jakarta on Wednesday (20/12/2023). Read more at https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/12/21/09584331/prabowo-gibran-gembar-gembor-program-makan-siang-gratis-rp-450-triliun-duit.

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