Social Aid Recipients Directed to Pay Merah Putih Cooperative Dues

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf stated that beneficiaries of the Family Hope Programme (PKH) who become members of the Merah Putih Cooperative will contribute to paying the principal dues. “The Ministry of Social Affairs will create a legal umbrella so that they also have guidelines for setting aside a portion of the social assistance or bansos to pay their principal dues,” said Saifullah at the Ministry of Cooperatives office on Monday, 13 April 2026.

To lighten the burden, Saifullah said the Ministry of Social Affairs will establish regulations allowing social aid recipients who join the cooperative to pay dues in instalments.

Saifullah explained that the dues paid by cooperative members will become principal savings. The PKB politician noted that the Ministry of Cooperatives is still determining the amount of dues to be paid. However, he said the ideal amount for the dues is Rp50,000 or Rp100,000.

In addition to the principal dues, cooperative members will pay mandatory dues of around Rp5,000–10,000 per month. He said these dues will ultimately return to the beneficiaries as part of the remaining business profits. “Consider this as a form of savings from the beneficiaries that will eventually be received by the beneficiaries themselves,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono encouraged Family Hope Programme recipients to become members of the Merah Putih Cooperative. The hope is that those in decile 1 and decile 2 can exit the poor category because they will have remaining business profits that increase their income.

Ferry said the Ministry of Cooperatives is opening opportunities for 15–18 million Family Hope Programme participants. The Gerindra politician hopes that with an average of 15 people in 80,000 cooperatives, there will be potential to absorb up to 1.4 million Family Hope Programme beneficiaries who can work in the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives.

He said that in the near future, the Ministry of Cooperatives will issue regulations, even a Minister of Cooperatives Regulation, as a legal umbrella regarding the Merah Putih Cooperative dues so as not to burden Family Hope Programme recipients. “What they have to pay, we will make as low as possible,” he said.