The Finance Ministry's spokesperson, Deni Surjantoro, said on Monday that social media posts alleging such a proposal "are a hoax."
He urged the public to use social media responsibly and stay alert to scams or misleading content falsely attributed to ministry officials.
The clarification followed the circulation of photos and videos on TikTok that misrepresented the minister's remarks and generated high engagement.
Since its launch on January 6, the MBG program has absorbed Rp41.3 trillion (nearly US$2.5 billion) as of November 18, or 58.2 percent of its Rp71 trillion budget.
Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said on November 20 that the government may mobilize around Rp30 trillion of this year's budget to support MBG distribution in November and December.
On December 5, President Prabowo Subianto said the MBG program has served about 49 million schoolchildren, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers daily.
He said the figure is equivalent to roughly seven times Singapore's population, calling it evidence of the government's commitment to public service.
The program's expansion is being supported by more than 15,300 kitchens nationwide. As of November 18, kitchen operations and related services employed 556,735 workers, with Indonesia targeting 82.9 million recipients by March 2026.
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Translator: Imamatul S, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Anton Santoso
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