Zulhas and Yandri Susanto Deny Hoax About Closure of Village Stalls, Affirm Koperasi Desa Merah Putih Will Boost Economy

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) and Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT) Yandri Susanto have firmly stated that news claiming the government will close community-owned stalls is false information or a hoax. Zulhas confirmed that the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDMP) programme was not formed to replace or shut down small village stalls. According to him, the cooperative serves a different function, namely as a strategic infrastructure for distributing subsidised goods and government aid, as well as an off-taker for community agricultural products. “It is not true that stalls will be closed. That is a very malicious hoax. Its purpose is only to stir up trouble among the public,” said Zulhas after opening the National KDMP Seminar at the South Sulawesi Governor’s Office Hall on Tuesday. The presence of KDMP is a strong commitment by the government to reduce poverty and open income streams for villagers. “We want to do good so that poverty decreases, the village economy can grow, and people can get jobs,” he said. All people’s programmes will be channelled through the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih, Koperasi Kelurahan Merah Putih, or Koperasi Nelayan Merah Putih. Zulhas even stated that owners of small grocery stalls would benefit greatly because they could partner directly with the cooperative. “In fact, grocery stalls can consign their goods. If they want to market products throughout Indonesia, they can also do so through the Village Cooperative. Because once again, this cooperative is not a stall and not a supermarket,” Zulhas continued. The massive construction of cooperative facilities is also confirmed to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in remote areas. “This cooperative will create jobs. Cooperatives are being built on a large scale to absorb labour in the villages. If one cooperative employs six or seven people, multiplied by around 80,000 villages, then almost half a million people can work,” he explained. In line with Zulhas, Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto also firmly dismissed the malicious gossip. “Even though we have clarified this, there are many circulating on social media saying that the Coordinating Minister for Food and the Minister of Villages want to close stalls in villages. That is a hoax,” Yandri stressed in front of Zulhas. The Ministry of Villages has even taken firm steps by reporting the perpetrators of this cyber slander to the police. “That is fake news. They made it using AI, and that, Mr Coordinating Minister, we have reported to the National Police Headquarters. So, it is not true,” he continued. Yandri also confirmed that Zulhas is known as a figure who fights hard for the fate of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). “In fact, the Coordinating Minister for Food is a fighter for the common people, a fighter for MSMEs, and it is impossible for him to close small stalls in the villages. There is also a rumour that within a 2 km radius no small traders are allowed, that is also a lie and a hoax,” he explained. The public is strongly urged not to be easily provoked by manipulative visual content circulating wildly in cyberspace. Ignoring the baseless issue, the government is currently moving quickly to pursue the target of completing the construction of 35,000 KDMP units. “By the end of August, God willing, 35,000 will be completed. We from the Ministry of Villages together with the Coordinating Ministry for Food continue to coordinate regarding land issues, if the land area is less than 1,000 square metres, it will still be built, including for those who do not yet have land, we will find a solution,” said Yandri.