Ministry of Cooperatives: Land Conflict in NTT Not Related to Cooperative
The Ministry of Cooperatives states that the conflict between residents of Waiburak Village and Narasaosina Village, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, is not related to the physical development of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative. “This is a longstanding conflict between Waiburak Village and Narasaosina Village triggered by an inherited adat land dispute,” said the Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Ahmad Zabadi, in a written statement on Wednesday, 25 March 2025.
Zabadi provided this clarification due to local reports linking the clash between village residents to the development of the Merah Putih Cooperative. On the same occasion, Zabadi stated that there has been no development of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (Kopdes) in the village to date.
Zabadi emphasised that every physical development of Kopdes Merah Putih must be on land free from disputes or with clean and clear status. The status of land free from disputes is a requirement in the inventory of land assets for the physical development of Kopdes Merah Putih in accordance with Ministerial Circular No. 4 of 2025 on the Inventory of Land and Building Assets to Accelerate the Physical Development of Outlets, Warehousing, and Facilities for Merah Putih Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives.
Regarding the incident, Zabadi said the Ministry of Cooperatives has coordinated with the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government to obtain accurate information about the clash in the two villages. Zabadi also urged the public not to be provoked by untrue information and not to link the conflict to the government without clear basis.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Cooperative and SME Office of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Linus Lusi, confirmed that the conflict between the two villages is not related to Kopdes Merah Putih.
Linus stated that the local Cooperative Office has directly engaged with community leaders to gather information about the land conflict. “There is no statement whatsoever related to Kopdes Merah Putih; this is purely an adat land issue,” said Linus.