Ministry of Cooperatives Plans to Disburse Civil Servant Salaries and Pensions; Details Provided

The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantorb, has revealed the government’s plan to establish cooperatives as service units for the disbursement of civil servant (PNS) salaries and pension payments.

Ferry stated that the plan is currently being discussed with the Minister of Finance as part of an effort to strengthen the role of cooperatives in providing financial services to the public.

“Yesterday, we also discussed how the Minister of Finance and I will ensure that cooperatives can serve as service units for paying civil servant salaries and pensions,” Ferry said during a public discussion at the Pre-National Congress of Syarikat Islam in Jakarta on Monday (5/10/2026).

According to Ferry, this expansion of functions is part of a broader strategy to strengthen cooperatives, allowing them to provide more extensive services to the community while simultaneously increasing their competitiveness against the banking sector.

The plan aligns with the government’s efforts to strengthen cooperative institutions through the Draft Cooperative Law (RUU Perkoperasian), which is currently being deliberated with the House of Representatives (DPR RI).

Under this draft law, the government proposes the formation of a dedicated cooperative supervisory authority separate from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), as well as the protection of public deposits in cooperatives through the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

Ferry noted that strengthening these service functions and institutional frameworks is expected to make cooperatives more capable of competing with the banking industry.

“If this occurs in the near future, cooperatives will be able to compete with the existing banks in Indonesia,” he added.