Academia
The government's push for establishment of 80,000 village cooperatives will only succeed if top-down state ambition gives way to genuine, bottom-up member control.
A motorcyclist rides past a Red and White Cooperative outlet that has yet to begin operations in Ternate, North Maluku, on July 11, 2026. The Indonesian government aims to have 40,000 Red and White Cooperatives by the end of 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen rural economies, complete cooperative facilities and prepare professional staff to manage the program. (Antara/Andri Saputra)
Indonesia is embarking on an ambition rarely matched in its economic history: building Red and White Cooperatives (Koperasi Merah Putih) at unprecedented speed. Driven by Presidential Instruction No. 9/2025, which mandates the accelerated establishment of 80,000 village-level cooperatives, national progress is currently being measured by sheer numerical tally.Yet, legal registration does not mean an enterprise belongs to its members. True ownership depends on whether they can contribute meaningfully in ways they recognize and retain actual control over the institution.
Mohammad Hatta placed that question at the center of the cooperative movement. He viewed cooperatives as an exercise in economic democracy, linked to collective ownership, self-help, participation and moral responsibility.
