BULD of DPD RI Highlights Inconsistent Cooperative Regulations Between Central and Regional Governments
Manado (ANTARA) - Chairman of the Regional Legislative Affairs Body (BULD) of the DPD RI, Stefanus B.A.N. Liow, stated the need for alignment of cooperative regulations between the central and regional governments.
“The DPD RI through BULD concludes that cooperative regulations in Indonesia are currently not aligned between the centre and the regions,” Stefanus said during a public consultation on the monitoring and evaluation results of regional regulations and draft regional regulations related to cooperatives in Manado on Thursday.
He explained that presidential instructions (Inpres) are not included in the hierarchy of legislation, thus cannot serve as a legal basis with administrative sanctions or legal consequences.
According to Stefanus, the North Sulawesi Provincial Government, as the site of the public test, supports accelerating the revision of Law No. 25 of 1992 on Cooperatives, particularly regarding norms, standards, procedures, and criteria (NSPK).
“Cooperatives must be affirmed as a direct manifestation of Article 33 paragraph (1) of the 1945 UUD NRI, so that all central and regional policies are oriented towards the principles of family-based economy and economic democracy,” he said.
BULD of the DPD RI, he added, has conducted monitoring in 38 provinces through absorbing public aspirations, field visits, and hearings, strengthened by public testing.
He revealed three main problems in the cooperative sector, namely the potential criminal risks for village heads regarding financial management, the unclear existence of old cooperatives, and overlaps with other village economic entities before the existence of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KDMP) programme.
“From the monitoring results, regional cooperative offices are confused, cooperative administrators do not understand the applicable regulations, and village heads are worried about getting entangled in the law,” he said.
He emphasised that this condition is not a regional failure, but rather the result of regulatory design that is not yet appropriate.
In addition, BULD also encourages strengthening the role of the Indonesian Cooperative Council (Dekopin) in education, certification, supervision, advocacy, and regulatory harmonisation, as well as providing protection for existing cooperatives, especially Village Unit Cooperatives (KUD).
The event featured several speakers, including the Head of the Cooperatives and SMEs Office of North Sulawesi, Tahlis Gallang, Secretary of United Villages of North Sulawesi, Luki O.J. Kasenda, Chairman of Dekopin of North Sulawesi, G.S. Vicky Lumentut, and Chairman of the Indonesian Economists Association (ISEI), Joy Elly Tulung.
The respondents came from the Deputy for Cooperative Talent Development and Competitiveness, Ministry of Cooperatives, Destry Anna Sari, and the Director General of Village Governance Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, La Ode Ahmad P. Bolombo.