Cooperatives Minister: Kopdes Merah Putih Is an Implementation of Prabowonomics

Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono says the development of Village/Urban Cooperative Kopdes Merah Putih nationwide is a concrete realisation of the people-centred economy concept championed by President Prabowo Subianto. According to Ferry, Kopdes Merah Putih forms an important part of the economic idea known as Prabowonomics, an approach that places the people at the heart of national economic development.

‘The Kopdes Merah Putih program is also one of the key points of what is called Prabowonomics,’ Ferry said as a speaker at the launch of Syahganda Nainggolan’s book Menggugat Republik and the National Seminar on Prabowonomics, Democracy, and the Direction of the Republic’s Future at Bandung Institute of Technology’s West Hall, West Java, on Thursday (5/3). He insisted the economic ideology under Prabowonomics aims to correct the course of the national economy, which he argues has become too liberal and capitalist.

‘The President wants to redirect our economy away from this misdirection, which is too liberal and capitalist, to a people-centred economy within the cooperative framework, particularly Kopdes Merah Putih,’ he said. He believes cooperatives must be restored as the mainstream engine of national economic development. Under President Prabowo’s administration, cooperatives are positioned as a key instrument to strengthen the people’s economy.

‘The true roots of Prabowonomics come from the thoughts of national figures such as RM Margono Djojohadikusumo and Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, who advocated socialist religious-economic ideas,’ Ferry noted. He emphasised the government will strive to ensure the Kopdes Merah Putih program runs successfully. In his view, the program’s success will determine the future of the cooperative movement in Indonesia.

‘If it fails, I believe there will be no more existence of cooperatives in Indonesia,’ he said. Ferry added that strengthening cooperatives aligns with the mandate of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, which states that the economy is structured as a joint enterprise based on family-like principles.

‘Cooperatives have a strategic position as the main instrument for realising economic democracy as mandated by Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution,’ he said. He stressed that cooperatives are not only economic institutions but also as tools of the people’s economic struggle and as the cornerstone of the national economy grounded in mutual cooperation.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s University of Indonesia philosopher Rocky Gerung stated the Indonesian constitution opens space for various economic models, including capitalism through corporations and the state’s role through state-owned enterprises. However, he argued that the economic system must also be oriented to the ordinary people, which is realised through cooperatives. ‘Cooperatives embody the spirit of human solidarity,’ he said.