Rocky Gerung states Merah Putih Village Cooperatives require state support
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres), Rocky Gerung, believes that the strengthening of the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDKMP) requires state support to ensure the cooperatives have a solid foundation as a community economic movement.
According to Rocky, as reported from a press statement in Jakarta on Tuesday, such support is necessary so that KDKMP does not merely stop at institutional formation, but develops into an economic movement capable of empowering people at the village and sub-district levels.
He stated that cooperatives hold a position as one of the pillars of the national economy alongside corporations and State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN). However, according to him, cooperatives have not yet received comparable levels of reinforcement.
“Our constitution recognises three players—corporations, SOEs, and cooperatives—to generate solidarity. In practice, cooperatives only receive the drips of CSR from corporations,” he remarked during a Public Discussion prior to the Syarikat Islam National Congress in Jakarta on Monday (5/10).
Rocky assessed that the development of KDKMP, encouraged by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, is part of an economic transformation aimed at strengthening the role of the community economy.
He added that the various issues arising in the implementation of KDKMP should not serve as a reason to halt the development of cooperatives.
He also noted that cooperatives should not be measured by the formation of institutions or physical buildings, but rather by their ability to meet the needs of the community.
Rocky conveyed that cooperatives are people’s economic institutions mandated by the 1945 Constitution and must therefore be continuously implemented. In his view, the strength of cooperatives lies in their movement, which grows from the needs of the people.
Therefore, he stated that the development of KDKMP needs to be driven as a collective movement with a strong foundation, rather than just the establishment of an institution.