Minister: Claims That 'Red and White' Village Co-ops Will Kill Small Shops Are Lies

Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT) Yandri Susanto has firmly denied that the presence of the Kopdes Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives) aims to shut down small shops, especially at the village and sub-district level. Yandri said there are many narratives circulating on social media regarding plans to close village stalls. “Closing residents’ stalls in villages is false news or a hoax. The information was created using artificial intelligence (AI), and together with the Coordinating Minister, we have reported it to the National Police Headquarters. It is completely untrue,” he said at the Village Cooperative/Koperasi Merah Putih (KDKMP) Seminar in Makassar on Tuesday. He stated that the work of the Coordinating Minister for Food is part of the struggle for ordinary people and MSMEs. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that small stalls, which are the livelihood of rural communities, will be closed. “Likewise, the issue of a trading ban within a two-kilometre radius is also untrue and is false news,” he reiterated.