Surabaya, Feb. 19 -- Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, urged all regional governments in the country to fully support the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program and safeguard food prices and stocks during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

"Keep in mind that 17 ministries share responsibility for supporting MBG implementation. This leaves no room for local administrations to opt out of the program," he said in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday.

Speaking after an MBG coordination meeting at the East Java Governor's Office, Hasan stressed that the state has made it mandatory for regional governments to contribute to the national priority program, which has served more than 60 million people nationwide.

He argued that ...