Acting Presidency of Suharto - Economics and Finance - Cooperatives

Cooperatives

On 18 December 1967, the DPR passed the Basics of Cooperatives Law. Although the previous Government already had its own Cooperatives Law which was passed in 1965, the Suharto Government viewed it as a law that politicized cooperatives. By requirement of the Sukarno-era legislation, a cooperative had to represent nationalist, religious, and communist elements in the adoption of Sukarno’s Nationalism, Religion, and Communism (Nasakom) concept and cooperatives was required to view itself as an equipment of the revolution. The new law placed cooperatives back as a purely economic institution and to undo the previous cooperatives law, does not approve of discrimination based on political beliefs amongst its leadership. The new law also called for the Government to guide, assist, supervise and protect cooperatives in its policies. This in effect, gives the Government authority over cooperatives although considerable autonomy was still given to the cooperatives.