Airlangga says Prabowo’s flagship meal program will be protected even as Jakarta weighs broader spending cuts

Indonesia will not cut the budget for President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals program for now, even as rising oil prices and fiscal pressure force the government to look for savings elsewhere. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the program remains a long-term investment and will be shielded while Jakarta reviews other spending to keep the deficit under control.

Free Meals Budget Will Not Be Cut
Airlangga said the Rp335 trillion budget allocated to the free meals program will remain unchanged, describing it as funding for a leading government program and a long-term investment. The program is central to Prabowo’s political agenda and is aimed at feeding around 82 million children and pregnant women.

That stance comes even as the government openly prepares for harsher fiscal scenarios linked to the Middle East conflict and rising energy costs. Airlangga said Indonesia is studying different war-duration scenarios, including five, six, and ten months, to gauge the budget impact.

Spending Cuts Will Target Other Areas
Instead of trimming the lunch program, Airlangga said the government will look at cutting other types of expenditure, including services, business trips, equipment, and ministry-level programs. The goal is to avoid wasteful spending while preserving the legal deficit ceiling of 3 percent of GDP.

This reflects Indonesia’s long-standing effort to maintain fiscal discipline. Recent reporting showed officials are reviewing the budget more broadly if oil prices stay above US$100, but the free meals program is still being treated as protected spending.

Mixed Signals Came From Other Officials
Earlier the same day, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the free meals program could potentially be made more efficient and suggested its full-year spending did not necessarily have to stay at Rp335 trillion. He also said rising oil prices were forcing a broader reassessment of fiscal space.

At the same time, National Nutrition Agency chief Dadan Hindayana said there would be no budget revision “for the time being,” which broadly aligned with Airlangga’s message even if the internal debate over efficiency appears to remain open.

Oil Prices Are Driving the Fiscal Anxiety
The pressure comes as oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel, with Indonesian officials presenting worst-case scenarios in which crude could reach US$115 and the rupiah could weaken to Rp17,500 per US dollar. Under that combination, the budget deficit could widen to 4.06 percent of GDP, well above Indonesia’s self-imposed cap.

Indonesia’s 2025 deficit already came close to the statutory ceiling, reaching 2.92 percent of GDP, which helps explain why the government is reluctant to let spending drift higher without offsetting cuts.

The Program Is Big, Costly, and Politically Untouchable for Now
Government data cited in current reporting said about Rp44 trillion had been spent on the program by the end of February, or roughly 13.1 percent of the 2026 allocation. That shows the rollout is still in an early spending phase compared with the full-year target.

The decision to preserve the program also comes as it faces legal and fiscal scrutiny from civil society groups questioning the size, safeguards, and transparency of its funding. Still, the government’s latest message is clear: if austerity is needed, the cuts will come from elsewhere first.

Indonesia’s latest position shows that Prabowo’s free meals program remains politically protected, even as oil shocks and deficit risks force difficult budget choices. For Indonesians, the issue is no longer whether the program matters, but how the government can keep funding it without squeezing other priorities. For Singaporeans and regional observers, the bigger takeaway is that Indonesia’s domestic spending decisions are becoming more tightly linked to global energy volatility and investor confidence across Southeast Asia.

Sources: Jakarta Globe (2026)

Keywords: Indonesia Free Meals, Airlangga Hartarto, Budget Deficit Indonesia, Oil Price Shock, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Dadan Hindayana