Purbaya's Statement on Salaries for Merah Putih Cooperative Managers
The government is opening recruitment for 30,000 employees to fill the positions of Merah Putih Village Cooperative Managers. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that he does not yet know the salary payment scheme for these tens of thousands of employees.
The State Treasurer was asked whether funds for salaries would come from the state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN). However, Purbaya stated that so far, he only knows that the budget allocation for one of President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programmes is not substantial.
The portion of the budget for cooperatives from the state coffers is only around Rp 40 trillion per year. “(Employee salaries) For the cooperative, I don’t know, but what I pay is only the instalment of Rp 40 trillion. I don’t know about the rest,” said Purbaya after attending the PT SMI Symposium in Jakarta on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.
The government is opening 35,476 positions consisting of 30,000 cooperative managers and 5,476 Fishermen’s Village managers. Selected applicants will work as contract employees of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).
If they pass the selection, the cooperative managers will work under PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara. Meanwhile, Fishermen’s Village managers will become employees of PT Agrinas Jaladri Nusantara. Regarding their status, they are prepared to be contract workers or employees under Fixed-Term Employment Agreements (PKWT).
This selection is open to diploma or D-III, D-IV graduates, and bachelor’s degrees in all majors with general requirements including a maximum age of 35 years and a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.75. The selection mechanism is carried out through the National Selection Committee for Human Resources of the Best Quick Results Programme (PHTC), and the announcement of selection results is scheduled for June 2026.
Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono said that no decision has been made on whether the budget comes from the APBN or other sources. Nevertheless, he assured that the source is not from the initial capital set per cooperative, which is Rp 3 billion. “No, that’s outside (Rp 3 billion), the scheme will be prepared later,” said Ferry at the Food Coordinating Ministry Office on Monday, 20 April 2026, as quoted from Kontan.co.id.