Hope in Cooperatives

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

he Karya Mukti Village Unit Cooperative in Pelepat District, Bungo Regency, Jambi, has grown rapidly since the last 5 years. By upholding the principles of openness and togetherness, the cooperative has developed 18 business units with a turnover of more than Rp 100 billion per year. Savings and loan service activities at KUD Karya Mukti, Friday (5/7/2019).

Many people place their hopes in cooperatives. A group of chicken farmers in Blitar, East Java, relies on cooperatives, as do people in Jakarta.

Several years ago, Leony, a resident of Jakarta, was approached by a man who asked her to join a cooperative. Leony was also asked to find other people to join the same cooperative.

"Those who I invite are [low-income] people; they struggle to collect money to save even Rp 100,000 [US$6.90] per month," Leony said on Friday (9/7/2021).

After saving money for three years, by September 2020, they can withdraw their money plus interest. According to the profit sharing agreement, each saver can earn a total of Rp 4.175 million.

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However, reality speaks otherwise. The five people Leony invited to save money got nothing. In fact, a casual worker whom she invited to save money died because he thought that the Rp 4.175 million could not be withdrawn.

Leony said, since April 2020, bad signs of default have started to appear. There were people who had saved in the cooperative, but could not withdraw their money. Surprisingly, a cooperative staffer continued to collect money from people, saying they could disburse their savings when it reached maturity.

In Yogyakarta, Waluyo was the marketing partner of the same cooperative. He was ashamed because the cooperative failed to pay. The people he invited to join lost money. They are mostly relatives of his.

In fact, Waluyo, who was infected with COVID-19, now has a kidney disorder and cannot get treatment.

He was then promised by the cooperative management that everything would be back to normal. So, Waluyo bailed out his relative\'s money by selling his personal property. Promises were just promises. His property was depleted and there was no replacement. In fact, Waluyo, who was infected with COVID-19, now has a kidney disorder and cannot get treatment.

Benefits

Sudarnami, 60, a resident of Rungkut, Surabaya, East Java, experienced a different story. For many years she has been part of a group that is part of the Setia Bhakti Wanita Cooperative (SBW). This group provides loans.

Kompas/Agus Susanto

Workers peel cashews at the Puna Liput Cashew Cooperative, Ile Padung Village, Lewolema District, East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Wednesday (2/8/2017).

"All members — 35 people — must sign [a document] in front of the person in charge when a group member applies for a loan," said the grandmother of four.

Members have enjoyed the benefits of the cooperative.

"During the pandemic, arisan [rotating savings gathering] is done online. However, the food and snacks [usually served during the gathering] has been replaced with basic necessities, such as sugar, cooking oil or rice," Sudarnami said.

SBW Cooperative vice chairman for business and finance, Suhermin, said that during the pandemic, only a few members or groups were unable to pay off debts to the cooperative.

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Every year, the cooperative is monitored to ensure its “health” by a team from the East Java Cooperative Agency.

“Cooperatives can easily get loans from third parties if they have a certificate of their healthy performance. Every year, SBW gets the certificate, but we have never used it to get a bank loan," he said.

Established on Nov. 30, 2017, Putera Blitar now has 425 members, who are chicken farmers.

In Blitar, East Java, the poultry cooperative Peternak Unggas Sejahtera (Putera) Blitar is a defender of the interests of its members. Established on Nov. 30, 2017, Putera Blitar now has 425 members, who are chicken farmers.

The cooperative was formed to stabilize farmgate prices of eggs. Now, through the cooperative, its members can get easy access to chicken feed. They can also sell eggs to the cooperative.

"We have developed into a real sector cooperative," said Putera Blitar cooperative chairman Sukarman.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRIA RIATMOKO

Sales assistants arrange merchandise at Tomira (people\'s shop) on Jalan Wates, Kulon Progo Regency, DI Yogyakarta, Wednesday (29/3/2017). The modern retail store is managed by a cooperative and provides a display space for various local Kulon Progo products.

The president director of the Benteng Mikro Indonesia cooperative, Kamaruddin Batubara, said the reason a number of cooperatives lacked the trust of the people was because there were individuals who did not operate cooperatives according to the rules.

According to the principal researcher of the Center for Economic Research at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Maxensius Tri Sambodo, the rise of cooperatives as a medium of investment with the promise of high returns has hurt the soul of cooperatives. The spirit of cooperatives is kinship and mutual help among members.

He said it was necessary to promote literacy about healthy cooperatives and the practice of running cooperatives properly and correctly. The one responsible for this is the cooperative agencies in the regions and the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry. (OSA/ETA/APO/GIO/WER)

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko).