Cooperatives Minister stresses importance of Kopdes Merah Putih for the existence of cooperatives

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, stressed that the success of the Desa/Kelurahan Cooperative Kopdes Merah Putih will determine the existence of cooperatives in Indonesia. In a written statement received in Jakarta on Thursday, he said that if the programme fails, the future of cooperatives in the country will be threatened. ‘The government will strive hard so that this Kopdes programme can succeed. If it fails, I believe that in the future there will be no more existence of cooperatives in Indonesia,’ Ferry said. He explained that Kopdes Merah Putih is a concrete implementation of the people’s economy, which is frequently advocated by President Prabowo Subianto. He said the President wants to redirect Indonesia’s economy, which has become too liberal and capitalist, to a people-centred economy within the framework of cooperatives, especially Kopdes Merah Putih. According to him, cooperatives have now become a strategic programme of the Prabowo administration in correcting the direction of the national economy. ‘In that context, cooperatives have a strategic position as the main instrument in realising economic democracy as mandated by Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. Cooperatives are not only economic institutions, but also a people’s struggle tool and the cornerstone of the national economy,’ he said at a national seminar at ITB Campus, Bandung. Ferry emphasised that the direction of Indonesia’s economy must return to the noble ideals of the founding fathers, namely an economy that is just, based on gotong royong (mutual aid), and provides space for people’s ownership. In the same event, philosopher and political observer Rocky Gerung regarded cooperatives as a form of human solidarity. Rocky said the constitution indeed allows capitalism, but also states that the economy must generate shared prosperity to be achieved through state-owned enterprises (SOEs). ‘On the other hand, economic life must also be pro-poor. That is in the body and spirit of cooperatives,’ he said.