JAKARTA - Strengthening the institutional ecosystem of cooperatives is very urgent in efforts to increase protection for cooperative members.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Ahmad Zabadi, stated that this protection mechanism would be the substance of the discussion in the Draft Cooperatives Law which would soon be carried out by the government and the DPR.
"It is necessary to build a system of protection and supervision of members to prevent potential losses that occur in financial sector cooperatives. So, how is this affirmation, the substance is contained in the Cooperative Bill," said Zabadi at the Focus Group Discussion on the Compilation of the Protection and Complaints System for Cooperative Members at Sebelas Maret State University (UNS), as quoted from a written statement, Saturday, December 13.
He hopes that there will be input from the UNS in strengthening the substance of the Cooperatives Bill. Zabadi said, along with the agreement of the Cooperatives Bill in the DPR Plenary Meeting on November 18, 2025 as a DPR initiative, it is very possible for the government to add some affirmations in the draft bill that already exists.
One of the proposed changes is the title of the Cooperatives Bill to the National Cooperatives System Bill. He emphasized that the proposed name is a need to confirm the Red and White Village / Village Cooperative program (Kopdeskel Merah Putih) which is a national priority program.
"The President even used the word "Revolution" at the inauguration of the establishment of 80,000 legal entities of the Red and White Village/Subdistrict Cooperatives in Klaten. Because this is a radical change from the orientation of development that is more directed towards realizing economic equality," he said.
"I said, this is a distribution of equal welfare in order to realize a social state for all Indonesian people," he continued.
Therefore, Zabadi assessed that the protection of members must be the top priority. Without a strong supervision system, without clear protection standards, the risk of member losses can increase as the scale of business expands.
Zabadi added that the context of cooperation between the Ministry of Cooperatives and the University of Sebelas Maret is very strategic.
Through the MoU, continued Zabadi, UNS is playing a role in supporting the implementation of the Red and White Village/Neighborhood Cooperative program through various activities that confirm various programs have been implemented by the Cooperative Ministry.
"Among them are strengthening the institutionalization of cooperatives, increasing supervision and protection of cooperative members, digitization of cooperatives, and human resource development and literacy in the field of cooperatives to realize more modern, transparent and competitive cooperative governance," he added.
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