Jakarta (ANTARA) - Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono urged the expansion of cooperative infrastructure, like universities and financial institutions, to boost the sector's role in the national economy.
He raised this notion during the inauguration of the organizational structure of the Cooperative Information Center Management Agency (BP-PIP) of the Indonesian Cooperatives Council (Dekopin) in Jakarta on Wednesday night.
“After addressing leadership dualism in Dekopin, another crucial task lies ahead of us to advance the Cooperative Movement: establishing co-op universities and co-op banks,” Juliantono affirmed.
In the presence of Dekopin Chairman Bambang Haryadi, the minister spotlighted the Indonesian Cooperative Management Institute (Ikopin) University in Sumedang, West Java.
“The objective of the cooperative university is to give birth to individuals or cadres who share the spirit of the Cooperative Movement. I am convinced that Ikopin can improve and offer up-to-date insights for the development of cooperatives in Indonesia,” he pointed out.
Highlighting financial infrastructure, Juliantono proposed transforming the Cooperatives Ministry’s Revolving Fund Management Agency (LDPB) into a banking institution dedicated to financially supporting Indonesian cooperatives.
He noted that in the past, Indonesia had a bank dedicated to cooperatives, namely the Indonesian Cooperative Commercial Bank (Bukopin), which was later acquired by a company from South Korea.
On that note, the minister expressed confidence that by optimizing the role of Dekopin and strengthening educational and financial support for cooperatives through dedicated institutions, cooperatives can regain their position as a key pillar of the national economy.
He also lauded Dekopin for establishing the BP-PIP, citing the importance of leveraging information and communication channels to promote the Cooperative Movement.
“In this era of information, the presence of such an agency is vital to ensure the spread of narratives revolving around cooperatives. It is important to bring these narratives into the spotlight of national economic news,” he said.
Furthermore, Juliantono emphasized the need to pay closer attention to cooperatives operating in regions outside the Greater Jakarta area.
Meanwhile, Dekopin Chairman Haryadi explained that the BP-PIP is tasked with intensifying the dissemination of information on cooperatives to raise public awareness about the importance of these business entities.
“The BP-PIP must keep up with contemporary ideas by creating creative content,” he said, stressing the need to attract more young citizens to join cooperatives.
