Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia on “Building Indonesia’s Future Generations Through Nutrition” Event, at Sentul International Convention Center, Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Peace and prosperity be upon us,

Shalom,

Salve,

Om swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue,

Rahayu rahayu.

Distinguished leaders of the National Nutrition Agency;

Distinguished Ministers of the Red and White Cabinet present here: Coordinating Minister for Food Security Affairs, Coordinating Minister Professor Pratikno, yes, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, yes, what does PMK stand for again? There are too many abbreviations in Indonesia;

The ministers and coordinating ministers, oh, Professor Yusril is here too, if I’m not mistaken? Yes, Professor Yusril is here, as is the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction Affairs. Sorry, sorry. They are all the coordinating ministers;

Also present are the heads of state institutions, the Chairperson of the General Elections Commission (KPU), and the vice chairpersons, thank you;

Chairperson of the National Economic Council Pak Luhut, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), Chief of the National Police;

The one people are now a bit wary of, the Attorney General. It seems that he doesn’t work till dawn, right?

Head of the Presidential Staff Office, Head of the Communications Agency, and all officials whom I respect;

Head of the National Nutrition Agency, as organizer, Ms. Nanik Sudaryati Deyang; Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency Ms. Agustina Arumsari; Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency Major General Trenggono;

The heads of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), nutritionists, accountants, supervisors, volunteers, partners, drivers, and cooks whom I respect and care about.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you. Today I invited a motivational speaker, a prominent figure, a successful businessman from the United States who has become a friend of mine. I asked him to share some of his views and thoughts on leadership, on facing difficulties and challenges. Many of his views are similar to mine. He came from a very poor family. Since childhood he faced challenges and hardship. If I’m not mistaken, his father worked as a parking attendant in the United States. Yet today he has become one of the wealthiest people in the world. But it’s not about material wealth or money. He is also one of the pioneers in feeding hungry people around the world, not just in his own country. I met him because he heard about our program.

Ladies and gentlemen,

He once told me that when he was a child, on one evening during Thanksgiving, a celebration for the American people, his family had absolutely no food on the table. Then someone came, perhaps having heard from neighbors that the family had nothing to eat. That person brought food, and his father became angry, perhaps out of embarrassment, and didn’t want to accept it, but they were persuaded to do so. From that moment on, as he grew up and became successful, he always thought about people who did not have food. Perhaps that is where our values, perspectives, and philosophies meet. So I will ask him to speak. I won’t speak at length because I think you’ve heard enough of my speeches already.

Right? You’ve heard my speeches many times, haven’t you? Why? Have you? Or not? You have? You’re making that up. What? Do you want me to speak for a long time or a short time? Long? If it’s long, I’ll have some coffee first. There’s coffee with milk and black coffee. Be careful with black coffee, if I drink that, I’ll go on for a very long time. This is black coffee, but no, I won’t speak at length.

First, thank you all for making it here. Second, thank you for your service in remote and difficult places. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your loyalty.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The concept of the Free Nutritious Meals program is very simple. The reality is that many of our children go to school every morning without breakfast. Even at home, they rarely eat nutritious food. This has created a situation where nearly one-fifth, and honestly, I feel it is closer to one-quarter, around 25 percent, of our children suffer from malnutrition. In some regions of our country, the figure exceeds 20 percent and approaches 30 percent. The result is what we call stunting: underdeveloped brain cells, underdeveloped muscle cells. Underdeveloped brain cells, underdeveloped muscle cells, and underdeveloped bones. This means that a child will not reach his or her full potential as a normal human being. Their abilities will be below normal. We find children who struggle just to graduate from elementary school. Some may not even be able to replace their father’s work as a farmer, daily laborer, or fisherman, because those jobs require physical strength. How can they have physical strength if they suffered from poor nutrition? I saw this firsthand while traveling through villages during my presidential campaign.

Thank God, I’ve campaigned five times. Why are you laughing already? Five times, I lost four times. You’re laughing, Indonesians are funny. Losing is sad, you know. Sad. But it wasn’t the defeat itself. The sacred mission for the nation was unfinished, so we did not surrender to defeat. Fall down, get up again. Fall down, get up again. Fall again, get up again. Fall down, get up again. The important thing is to rise and keep working. This is one thing I have in common with Tony Robbins.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. But honestly, today I am sad. I cannot hide it. I am sad because I have been forced to replace people whom I cared about, trusted, and entrusted with heavy responsibilities for the nation. I do not want to comment much because they are facing legal investigations. If I say too much, it may appear that I am influencing the process. But replacing them was not easy for me. I remember the words of my late father, Professor Soemitro. He once told me: “Prabowo, if one day you find yourself confused or uncertain, always remember, side with your people.”

For some time I had been receiving reports. There were shortcomings, irregularities, and indications of misconduct. From the leaders. In any organization, leadership has a huge influence. A good leader creates a good organization. A bad leader creates a bad organization. Especially if the leader is incompetent, dishonest, or unethical.

When I received these reports, I summoned the Head of the Government Internal Supervisory Agency (BPKP), the Head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), and several other officials. I said: “Please investigate these reports regarding the National Nutrition Agency.” This program is extremely important for our nations, it concerns our people who need affirmative support. Every developed country I have studied uses school meal programs to reduce poverty and improve the physical development and intelligence of future generations. If successful, this program will generate tremendous progress for our economy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

If these kitchens succeed and operate properly, village economies will come alive. Farmers’ incomes will increase. They will no longer be at the mercy of middlemen. They will have assurance that their products and hard work will be purchased and absorbed by the market, enabling them to live better lives.

Ladies and gentlemen,

If this program reaches full implementation, we could feed 80 million, 83–85 million people. Thirty thousand kitchens operating properly and could create 1.5 million formal jobs and perhaps another 1.5 million real jobs in rural economies. That’s three million jobs. The amount of money circulating in villages will be enormous.

So Ladies and gentlemen, I am convinced this program will succeed. And you are one of the key elements of that success. You whom we have recruited and trained through the Indonesian Development Pioneer Scholars program (SPPI), whom we have educated and instilled with values of patriotism and service to the nation, have been tasked with leading and managing these kitchens. I was also informed there are five thousand partners here.

Raise your hands, partners. Let me see your faces. Partners who are confident they are good partners, raise your hands. Good partners, put your hands down. Now, partners who are scoundrels, raise your hands. Scoundrel partners, raise your hands. Nobody admits it?

Ladies and gentlemen,

Even if you are a scoundrel partner and don’t want to admit it, I’ll give you a chance. Return to the right path. Return to the right path and if you report yourself quickly and admit your mistakes, God willing, you’ll be safe. But if you think you’re smarter than the Republic of Indonesia, then go ahead and try.

Head of BPKP, what do you need? Whatever personnel you need, tell me and I will provide them. Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), whatever you need, tell me and I will provide it. Attorney General, whatever you need, tell me and I will provide it. If necessary, the trillions you had given me, use it to strengthen the Attorney General’s Office. BPKP, KPK, all law enforcement institutions must be strengthened. I will not allow the Republic of Indonesia to be mocked. I will not allow the Government of Indonesia to be disrespected. I will not allow the people’s money to be stolen. And, there will be no exceptions. As I said, it was difficult for me. When I signed those decisions, it was hard. These were people I appointed. These were people to whom I awarded ranks and honors.

So, ladies and gentlemen, when I asked for the scoundrel partners to raise their hands, nobody did. Well then, consider yourselves warned.

I think that’s enough. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi. What else should I talk about?

Ladies and gentlemen,

Food is a sacred matter. Food for poor people must not become a means for certain individuals to enrich themselves. Food is one of the easiest things to corrupt. Yesterday Tony Robbins and I ate at a school, supplied by one of the better kitchens. I admit it was a better ones because from a police-operated kitchen. Why are you laughing? Why are you laughing? Wht? Being “rather good” is good, it is better. Better than being “rather bad.” It is rather good, the rice was delicious. Soft and fluffy. I suspect they prepared something special because they knew the President was coming. Maybe the intelligence agency should investigate next time. When I visit, don’t tell them in advance. I admit, the rice was excellent. Comparable to what you’d get in a Japanese restaurant. And then what is that? What kind of tempe was yesterday? The stir-fried tempeh. The stir-fried tempeh was delicious too. The only issue was that there wasn’t enough of it. But that’s okay, these were junior high school students. I eat more than they do. Then the vegetable was also good. It was pumpkin mixed with corn, it was good too, though the portions were a bit small. Tony and I ate together. He’s a big man. I imagine he was thinking, “Poor Indonesian children.”

Now, about the chicken. Bring the chicken up here. Where is it, any chicken? Bring it here. Bring it here and put it in front.

I want ten partner representatives up here, ten people. Stand there in a line, stand there. There, there. One line there. There, there. That’s enough, enough. Enough, enough. Enough, enough. Enough, or it will not be visible. Is there a camera here? Camera. Can the camera show this on the screen? Yes there is a camera that can show this on the screen. Back off, back off, back off. Is the camera good? Eh, down, down, down. Can it be displayed? Yes, yes, yes, eh. Yes, yes, enough, enough. One moment, one moment. One moment. Yes, yes, yes.

Go down. I want to teach a lesson. Go down first. Back off, back off first. Look at this chicken. Come on, be disciplined. That’s embarrassing. There’s a foreigner here, look. What’s with these moms? Camera. Camera. Hey, camera. You. Can you be seen up there? Here, here.”

“Take a look. The chicken, the chicken, the chicken, show them. The one on the left…the one on the left…can you see it? Can’t you see it up there? Can’t see it? The one on the left is a chicken cut into 14 pieces. Yes. A chicken cut into 14 pieces. And this one…how many pieces is this one? This one is eight, the one on the right is eight. So, if a chicken cut into 14 pieces is this big, then if the pieces are this small, how many would that be? Maybe 18 or even 22 pieces. Huh?

If…if you cut it into more than 14 pieces, that’s a sin! A sin! How many millions of Indonesian children would be disappointed? Right? That’s true, isn’t it? Later, I’ll ask the Minister of Education, I’ll ask school principals, teachers, and the students to report it. Are the chicken pieces small or large? If necessary, we’ll randomly take photos and weigh them. Okay? Okay?”

Partners,

Second, don’t turn eggs into omelets. Now, now there is woman in the back said, “Not anymore, Sir.” Meaning you did before? If it’s made into an omelette, if an omelette, I’ve been an Indonesian for a long time, if it’s omelette, all kinds of things get mixed in, right? The flour ends up being more than the egg. So eggs must be served whole: fried or boiled. Correct? Minister of Education, principals, and teachers, make sure there are no more omelettes or what egg is it? Scrambled eggs, right? What? Yes. Okay? Yes? Ok, we’ll see. Right? Can you do that? Be careful, I’ll pray that misfortune befalls anyone who doesn’t. Thank you. Return to your seats.

SPPI Kitchen heads,

You are responsible for supervision. Don’t get involved in improper behavior yourselves. Right, do not take this lightly. My eyes and ears are everywhere.

I think that’s all from me. No need to speak any longer. Feeding people is a noble task and this program must succeed and will succeed. You are an important part of it. But if you do not want to work properly, step aside and we will find new young people. If you do not work well, if you are not serious, if you are not faithful and loyal, then please step aside. The interests of the people must come above all other interests.

Thank you.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Peace and prosperity be upon us,

Shalom,

Salve,

Om santi santi santi om.

Merdeka! More power.

Merdeka! Merdeka!

Good.
Thank you.

(TCUD/LW)