Golkar Party faction in West Kalimantan supports the MBG and wants a regional review

Pontianak, Thekabarnews.com—The chairman of the Golkar Party faction in the West Kalimantan Regional Representatives Council (DPRD), Heri Mustamin, has said that he supports the free meals program (MBG), which is one of the main goals of President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita agenda.

Heri emphasized the need to reassess and strengthen the program, especially in provinces with complex topographical conditions like West Kalimantan.

“In general, we support and like the MBG. We need to support it because it is part of the President’s Asta Cita. But as a sort of constructive critique, no program in the world is 100% flawless,” Heri said.

He highlighted that conducting a review is vital to avoid misunderstandings regarding the DPRD’s rejection of the plan, since he represents the Pontianak electoral district. He says the criticism is to ensure fairer, more effective execution everywhere.

“We do not have anything against the MBG itself. We must recognize that a program of this scale will inevitably face challenges, especially during implementation across different regions,” he remarked.

Heri pointed out how different urban and rural places are. In cities like Pontianak, distribution logistics are still rather easy to handle because the infrastructure and transportation networks are good.

In regencies with rough terrain and few ways to get there, like Kubu Raya and Ketapang, things are very different. It can take hours to get from a regency capital to sub-districts, which makes planning difficult.

“Think about giving out food in places where it takes a long time to get to some neighborhoods. That makes things very hard,” he said.

Heri also talked about how longer transportation periods could make food less safe. Meals made in the early morning must be at schools by the time school starts. Long delivery times in rural areas could increase the likelihood of food spoilage or contamination.

“If you cook meals at daybreak, package them, and then drive them a long way, that can be dangerous. Heri said, It might be safe in cities, but in isolated locations, it could become a big problem.” Heri added.

He told policymakers to change how they run the program based on the needs of the area to make sure it stays safe and works.