President Prabowo Subianto has framed his flagship Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) program in stark moral terms: better for state funds to feed the people than to be lost to corruption. It is a line that resonates powerfully in a country long frustrated by leakages in public spending. But as compelling as the sentiment may be, the framing risks obscuring a more uncomfortable truth: large-scale welfare programs, if poorly designed, can themselves become fertile ground for the very corruption they seek to displace. To subscribe please click here
