Full Breakdown
Indonesian Coalition Parties Distance Themselves From Flagship Free-Meals Programme Amid Poisoning Scandal
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Coalition Strains Over the Free-Meals Initiative
Indonesia’s big-tent governing coalition, which controls about 80 % of the parliament, is showing its first major fissures. Senior members of two coalition parties have told Reuters that they will distance themselves from President Prabowo Subianto’s free-meals scheme, fearing the mounting food-poisoning cases and graft allegations could damage their electoral prospects. A third party’s senior official said the party will press for “constructive public criticism” of the programme. Together, the parties of these three officials represent more than a quarter of the coalition’s parliamentary majority.
Scope and Problems of the Programme
Launched in January 2025, the universal free-meals programme was pledged to reach 83 million children and pregnant women. Since then, at least 57 000 cases of food poisoning have been recorded, including an early-October incident that left roughly 1 700 people ill across four sites. In June, a former chief of the programme and two officials were arrested on corruption charges. The government has allocated 240 trillion rupiah for the scheme in the next fiscal year.
Political Repercussions and Public Sentiment
President Prabowo’s personal approval has fallen sharply: from 81 % in November 2023 to 44.5 % in October 2026, according to Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC). Support for the free-meals programme dropped from 62 % to just over a third in the same period. Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, son of former President Joko Widodo, publicly apologized to affected families and visited sick children.
Official Responses
Burhanuddin Muhtadi, senior visiting fellow at Singapore’s Yusof Ishak Institute, warned that failure of the scheme would be a “major blow” to the president, noting the large budget allocation for the next year.
Outlook and Fiscal Commitment
The programme’s budget of 240 trillion rupiah underscores its centrality to Prabowo’s 2024 election platform. Analysts note that without substantive redesign, the universal model may remain financially unsustainable and continue to generate political risk for the coalition as Indonesia approaches its 2029 elections.
