Spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’ Almost Gone
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – As a celebration, CooperativesDay is turning 70. The services of cooperatives have supported many people in a number of areas. However, the number of businesses based on mutual cooperation (gotong royong) should be expanded further so as to become a pillar of the economy as a whole.
At present, the role of the gotong royong economy has been left behind and is disappearing from economic management.
According to the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministry, the contribution of cooperatives to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose to the present rate of3 percent from 1.7 percent two years ago. This figure is very small and insignificant compared to the contribution of other kinds of businesses, such as private companies and state-owned enterprises.
The cooperatives’ contribution toIndonesia’s GDP is also still very small compared to that in other countries, such as Kenya (43 percent) and Norway (22 percent). With this situation, the so-called gotong royong economy will fade away of if no serious efforts are taken to raise the number of cooperatives in the country.
Nevertheless, there are some traces of success in managing gotong royong-based cooperatives in a number of areas, such as in West Kalimantan, West Java, East Java, Bali, North Sumatra, and Jakarta.
Rp 2.6 trillion assets
In Sanggau, West Kalimantan, a cooperative called the Lantang Tipo Credit Union (CU) has up to 182,000 members, 50 branch offices, and assets of Rp 2.6 trillion as of June 30.
In Pujon, Malang regency, East Java, the Sinau Andandani Economic Milk Cooperative, commonly called the SAE Milk Cooperative, has survived for more than half a century with 8,700 members and a population of 19,000 dairy cows. The North Bandung Dairy Farmers Cooperative (KPSBU) in West Bandung Regency, West Java, which has assets of Rp 30 billion, have been able improve the welfare of its 5,000 members by independently providing all the needs of its dairy cattle breeders from both upstream to downstream.
A village business cooperative (KUD), Denbantas, in Tabanan regency, Bali, was established in 1974. At that the time, its members totaled only 125 people with a total deposit of Rp 3,000 each. Now, after 43 years, its members number thousands and its total assets reach tens of billions of rupiah.
One of the largest cooperatives is the Mandiri Credit Union (CU) in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra. The 30-year-old cooperative has 52,000 members and operates in the three provinces of North Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi. The cooperative’s assets reachRp 550 billion with Rp 400 billion in outstanding loans among its members.
In North Jakarta, a new cooperative called the Love Indonesia Cooperative, which was established in 2011, has 7,400 members consisting of active women. Their total assets amount toRp 7.8 billion with participant savings of Rp 2.8 billion.
The gotong royong economy is highly instrumental in helping citizens. At least, residents in several areas said as much when met by Kompas last week through Sunday (9/7).
Mamam Sulaeman, 38, a dairy cattle farmer from Lembang, said he was really helped by the aid programs provided by the KPSBU, such as non-collateral loans. He once borrowed Rp 10 million to buy a dairy cow to expand his business.
"The process is quick, and payment is easy. The main requirement is to sell milk to the cooperative. If we continue to produce milk, the debt is not heavy and can be settled soon," the owner of three dairy cows said.
Cow breeder Mimih, 43, has another story. The KPSBU’s encouragement of its members to make use of cow manure as an energy source has reduced their monthly costs.
Now, he no longer needs to buy LPG gas. He can also reduce the costs of prepaid electricity tokens. The manure from his four cows is processed into renewable energy for the stove and lights in his house. Currently about KPSBU 1,000 members have their own cow manure digesters.
"With the spirit of gotong royong, we continue to raise dairy cows, producing milk. To guarantee the welfare of farmers and their families and the quality of livestock are our main priority, "he said.
Main driver
The spirit of mutual cooperation among members is the main driver of cooperatives development. If its members are active, the business will progress; if they are not active, the cooperative will die. The main key is that the cooperative should be able to improve the welfare of its members, not the board of the cooperatives.
"The cooperative can develop because of the members’ participation. Members should be well treated. If they are happy, the cooperative can operate for long time," said the spokesman of Pujon SAE Cooperative, Syamsu Madyan.
Sunarto, 32, a resident of Dusun Ngroto, Pujon Village, said the cooperative has helped him, especially in milk sales. Currently the price of milk is good, atRp 5,200 per liter. In addition to selling milk, he can also obtain animal feed from the cooperative.
Those who have successfully managed cooperatives say that managing the cooperative properly is not easy. They must, for example, convince residents to become cooperative members. To that end, the board should be able to show the benefits of the cooperatives to their members.
The marketing and business development chief at the Lantang Tipo CU head office, Kristianus Indra, said at the outset of its establishment from 1976 to 1990, development of the Lantang Tipo CU was slow because the image of the cooperative was not as strong as it is today. The Lantang Tipo CU began to develop rapidly in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, Cooperatives and SME Minister Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga said that the government continued to encourage cooperatives to increase their role in the growth of the national economy toward the equal distribution of wealth among citizens. "This will strengthen the unity of the Republic of Indonesia," Puspayoga said.
At the moment, about 43,000 cooperatives are inactive, some of which have been closed down, while about 150,000 cooperatives are active.
(DIT/ESA/CHE/WER/WSI/JAL/AYS/CAS/MAR)