Briefly this week, it appeared Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s ungainly signature policy of free food had come to this – a rather unpleasant sounding but, we are assured, tasty substitute for the real deal.
This is how fish milk for lunch – like the full meal plan itself: ambitious, interesting and unlikely – made its debut in Indonesian headlines. But it was a hit with voters. That’s what mattered at the time. Now the election is run and won, Prabowo and his incoming team face the burden of big-spruiking politicians around the world: delivery.
Amusingly, the “lunch” element in the program has been changed to “free nutritious meal” after someone realised that many schools actually ring the final bell about noon. Lunch will probably now be breakfast.