Parliament Reminds Government to Implement Merit System for Recruiting 35,000 Kopdes Managers

Member of House of Representatives Commission VI Rivqy Abdul Halim has highlighted the government’s plan to recruit 35,000 managers for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (Kopdes). The vacancies announced by the Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) and the Ministry of Defence (Kemenhan) form part of the Indonesia Development Driver Bachelor (SPPI) programme.

Rivqy stated that the recruitment process to become state-owned enterprise (BUMN) employees must be conducted transparently and based on a merit system, namely according to qualifications, competence, and performance in a fair manner. The PKB politician emphasised that the selection process must not involve any practices of favouritism or interventions from certain parties to prevent protests.

Therefore, the merit system must be prioritised. “Recruitment must truly prioritise professionalism. There must be no insider appointments,” said Rivqy in Jakarta on Friday (17/4/2026).

According to him, the position of Merah Putih Kopdes manager is highly strategic and thus must be filled by individuals with competence and experience in managing cooperatives. Rivqy warned that without adequate understanding and experience, managers will struggle to run cooperative operations effectively.

“Kopdes managers must understand cooperative governance. If they do not understand and lack experience, it will be difficult to run the cooperative well,” said Rivqy.