Prabowo's Regulation on 'Red and White' Village Cooperatives to Be Finalised This Week

The government is targeting the completion of a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) concerning the operations of the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives) this week. The regulation is being finalised with several ministries, agencies, and the State Secretariat to serve as the legal foundation for cooperative operations across Indonesia. Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan, commonly known as Zulhas, stated that the completion of the Perpres is the final stage currently being expedited by the government. According to him, the regulation is crucial to ensure that all Red and White Cooperatives have uniform governance and programmes. ‘I think there is one more thing that needs to be resolved, namely the Perpres. Hopefully, this week the governance will be completed so that everyone can have the same programmes. I think so,’ Zulhas said during a press conference following a coordination meeting at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (28/7/2026). With the issuance of the Perpres, the government hopes that the operations of the Village/Sub-district Red and White Cooperatives can proceed with a clear legal basis. The regulation will also serve as a reference for implementing governance and aligning cooperative programmes across various regions. Previously, Zulhas emphasised that the Red and White Village Cooperatives are not supermarkets, contrary to public perception. He explained that the cooperatives are positioned as government infrastructure to channel various programmes and strengthen the food trading system. ‘As we always explain, this cooperative is not a supermarket. Because in the minds of our friends, cooperatives used to be supermarkets,’ said Zulhas. He explained that the primary function of the cooperative is to be a distribution channel for subsidised goods and government aid, as well as an offtaker for priority agricultural commodities. ‘So once again, this cooperative is government infrastructure to later channel subsidised goods and government aid. It acts as infrastructure,’ he stressed. ‘Secondly, it can also function as an offtaker, especially for agricultural products that are a government priority, such as rice. Purchasing unhusked rice, yes. If in a region the government sets the price of unhusked rice at Rp6,500 per kg, but middlemen are buying at Rp5,000 per kg, then the cooperative can buy at Rp6,500 per kg, in cooperation with Bulog,’ he continued. According to Zulhas, these two functions will be the government’s initial priority. Once the cooperatives develop, their management can be expanded according to the potential of each village. ‘So those two. Of course, the most fundamental ones will be implemented first, and we will see how they develop. If the cooperative is already good and the village has various potentials, the cooperative could develop a tourism village, a thematic village, and so on. But the most fundamental are those two, infrastructure and as an offtaker,’ he concluded.