TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka conveyed the plan to start the free meal program trial in Solo City, Central Java, next week. “The trial in Solo City commences next week. I’ll invite the media crew next Monday to see for themselves (about the trial),” said Gibran at Solo City Hall on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

Gibran also denied the reports of budget cuts for the free meal program. It was previously reported that the allotted budget for this program will be snipped from Rp15,000 to Rp7,500 per child.

"Who said that? That’s not true," said President Jokowi’s son. Gibran also urged the media to refrain from reporting uncertain things.

The free meal program is Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s flagship program as elected president and vice president of Indonesia. The program was subject to discourse as it’s perceived as a burden to the State Budget. It was also recently brought to the spotlight after a report of the budget cut plan emerged.

"Just wait for the confirmation,” Gibran said.

According to him, the Rp15,000 budget per child was ideal and had been put to trial in some places.

However, Gibran said nothing has been set in stone. “The trial so far has been smooth-running as we involved nutritionists and we believe Rp15,000 is ideal. But let us know if there’s any input from parents and students,” he concluded.

SEPTIA RYANTHIE

Editor’s Choice: Free Nutritious Meal Program Trial in Tangerang to Run in August 2024

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News