Many Indonesians are Worried about Corruption in the Merah Putih Cooperative

Indonesian society perceives several potential problems within the Merah Putih Cooperative program. This is evident from the results of a Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas) survey.

34% of respondents are concerned that the program could become a breeding ground for corruption. Furthermore, 20.4% of respondents believe that the available human resources (HR) lack the competence to manage cooperatives.

"The low professionalism and competence of HR are rooted in the fact that cooperative managers in villages are often chosen based on personal connections rather than ability, resulting in a lack of understanding of bookkeeping, cooperative law, or business strategy," stated a Litbang Kompas researcher in their report on Monday, July 14, 2025.

Another 18.5% of respondents worry that the cooperative program at the village/sub-district level could become a political tool rather than an independent economic institution.

Further concerns include overlapping management with existing institutions such as village unit cooperatives or BUMDes (13.7%), program stagnation (9%), and other issues (1%).

Despite these concerns, a majority, or 67.9%, of respondents believe that the Merah Putih Cooperative program can improve people's welfare, while 29.6% are pessimistic.

"The optimism expressed by the largest segment of the public serves as social capital that needs to be maintained, because high expectations also mean a greater risk of disappointment if it fails to materialize," said the Litbang Kompas researcher.

This survey involved 512 respondents from 72 cities across 38 provinces, selected randomly according to the population proportion in each province.

Data collection was conducted from June 16-19, 2025, through telephone interviews. The survey's margin of error is approximately 4.25% with a 95% confidence level, under conditions of simple random sampling.