Cooperatives Minister pushes cooperative business activities towards production

Cooperatives must return to the ideals of Bung Hatta and the founders of this republic, and must enter important sectors for the benefit of the people.

Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - Cooperatives Minister (Menkop) Ferry Juliantono is encouraging cooperative business activities to develop towards production, so that they can add value to the potential of their regions while also having an impact on public welfare.

The minister said in Malang, East Java, on Friday that cooperatives are not only synonymous with savings and loans, but should act as drivers of the people’s economy.

“Cooperatives must return to the ideals of Bung Hatta and the founders of this republic, and must enter important sectors for the benefit of the people,” said Ferry.

Ferry said that cooperative affairs today should not be limited to institutional matters or annual members’ meetings (RAT), but require strengthening the governance of business activities.

“And that is now our task: how to encourage cooperatives to move into the industrial, production, distribution and even financial sectors,” he added.

He noted that business activities in several cooperatives in Indonesia have already developed, with some even owning factories to process regional potential, including one in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra.

He added that the cooperative in that region is able to produce crude palm oil (CPO).

“Last week I inaugurated a CPO mill owned by an oil palm farmers’ cooperative. If more cooperatives own CPO mills, it is not impossible for cooperatives to have their own cooking oil refinery,” he said.

Beyond natural resource processing, cooperative business lines are also expected to develop and enter the banking sector.

“Cooperatives once had their own bank called Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi, or BKE, which was established by the Induk Koperasi Pegawai Republik Indonesia,” he said.

Therefore, the ministry he leads is currently preparing various strategies to strengthen the progress of national cooperatives.