Viral 'Military-Style' Village Cooperative Parodies: Minister Says Online Criticism is Evaluation Material

Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono has responded to the proliferation of parody videos on social media satirising the implementation of the Kopdes Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperative) programme. Rather than viewing it as an attack, the government considers the criticism delivered by netizens through creative content as input for refining the programme. Social media has recently been flooded with parody videos depicting Kopdes Merah Putih officers behaving like military personnel. The content emerged in response to the training of prospective cooperative managers, which employed a military-style discipline approach. Responding to the phenomenon, Ferry assessed that public criticism is part of the dynamics of the social media era and should be heeded. “Yes, it is normal in the social media era; they actually mean well and they are reminding us that there are things that need to be evaluated and inputs,” Ferry said at the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta. According to him, various public responses, including those conveyed through parody videos, will serve as evaluation material for the government in running the Kopdes Merah Putih programme going forward. “We will certainly take that into consideration for review,” he stated. Beyond the training issue, Ferry also addressed public scrutiny regarding the locations of several Kopdes Merah Putih, which are deemed unsuitable or difficult for the public to access. The existence of a Kopdes Merah Putih in the Stone Garden tourist area of Bandung Regency recently drew public attention and raised questions about the effectiveness of the programme’s site selection. Ferry acknowledged there are several issues that need to be rectified. However, he stressed that the government will not view these problems partially just because they have gone viral on social media. “But we also have to look at, for example, the buildings, there are only a few of them, but just because it went viral, no, we are looking for a solution,” he concluded.