Government Committed to Overhauling Cooperatives Law, Says Minister
The government has declared its full commitment to overhauling Indonesia’s cooperative regulations, which are considered obsolete. This move is marked by the government’s readiness to discuss the Draft Law on the Fourth Amendment to Law Number 25 of 1992 concerning Cooperatives.
Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono stated that the current Cooperatives Law is 34 years old and no longer relevant to the dynamics of the times. He views this House of Representatives initiative bill as a significant momentum to reorganise the cooperative ecosystem in a holistic and comprehensive manner.
“Law Number 25 of 1992 is now considered irrelevant. This is a great momentum for the nation to thoroughly reorganise cooperative life in Indonesia,” Ferry said during a working meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, as quoted from a press release on Wednesday (17/6/2026).
After reviewing the draft bill proposed by the House, Ferry outlined several crucial issues requiring further joint deliberation, including the adoption of digital technology by cooperatives. He noted that digitalisation offers great opportunities for speed, convenience, and service affordability, while also enhancing accountability and transparency. However, he stressed the need to deepen regulations regarding the types of technology and their management to ensure safe utilisation.
Another crucial issue concerns the supervision and protection of members’ funds. The government highlighted the importance of establishing an institution to handle licensing, regulation, and supervision of cooperative savings and loan businesses, as well as the formation of a Cooperative Deposit Insurance Corporation. This institution would insure members’ deposits in Savings and Loans Cooperatives.
“It is hoped this will increase the trust of members and the public in using savings services at cooperatives without fear of default, as occurred in 2020,” Ferry said, explaining the urgency of the Cooperative Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Beyond deposit protection, the government is also focusing on law enforcement instruments through criminal sanction provisions. Ferry assessed that criminal sanctions are, in principle, necessary to protect the interests of cooperative members and the wider community. However, he cautioned that the formulation of these criminal articles must be done with great care.
“Carefulness is needed in the formulation so that it is not counterproductive, does not miss the target, and does not open opportunities for criminalisation, considering the literacy levels of administrators, supervisors, members, or the general public,” he stressed.
Lastly, he also mentioned the need to deepen provisions related to the ecosystem and the roles and functions of each stakeholder with the government. The government is optimistic that if the bill is passed by accommodating these strategic issues, the face of Indonesian cooperatives will be completely transformed and able to restore their position as the backbone of the national economy.
“With this law, we believe the dream of making cooperatives the pillar of the Indonesian economy is more likely to be achieved. Including the dream of bringing one or several Indonesian cooperatives into the world’s top 300 cooperatives within the next 10 to 20 years can be realised,” Ferry explained.
Also present at the working meeting were Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Farida Farichah, Deputy Minister of State Secretary Bambang Eko Suhariyanto, and Deputy Minister of Finance Juda Agung.