House Commission V Affirms It Never Called for Minimarket Closures
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairman of House Commission V Lasarus has affirmed that his commission never called for minimarkets or modern retail shops, such as Indomaret or Alfamart, to be shut down due to the existence of the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperative (KDKMP) programme.
He stressed that narratives circulating on social media claiming parliament supported the closure of modern retail stores were misleading.
“We never made any statement calling for Alfamart and Indomaret to be closed,” Lasarus said in Jakarta on Monday.
He explained that he had only raised the matter of regulating the presence of modern retail outlets, not eliminating them entirely.
Lasarus said the discussions in parliament concerning modern retail were in response to public complaints, particularly from traditional grocery shop owners who had been forced to close due to being unable to compete.
He noted that modern retail businesses had already expanded deep into remote villages and hamlets across Indonesia.
During a recent joint meeting with the government, he explained that he had merely proposed limiting modern retail operations to the sub-district level in order to safeguard rural economies.
This would allow basic goods traders in villages to have economic opportunities, including through the KDKMP programme.
“Let the supply chain for basic necessities in villages and hamlets give opportunities to basic goods traders in villages and hamlets, as well as village-owned enterprises or village cooperatives,” he said.
Previously, Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono also affirmed that the government had no plans to halt the expansion of modern retail networks such as Alfamart and Indomaret, but rather intended to regulate their presence, particularly in rural areas.
According to Ferry, villages should not be dominated by modern retail as they already have Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives.
“Yes, villages should ideally not have Alfamart and Indomaret because there are already village cooperatives — so that money circulates within the village rather than going to shareholders in Jakarta,” he said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday (21 February).