Menteri Koperasi Memuji Koperasi Mahasiswa UGM
Menteri Koperasi Memuji Koperasi Mahasiswa UGM
Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Drs. Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga, praised UGM regarding student cooperatives (KOPMA UGM) when he was visiting UGM on Tuesday (30/1).
“I think it’s not to be doubted that KOPMA UGM is an example for other cooperatives in the country,” he said when opening an annual meeting of KOPMA UGM in the Auditorium of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
Understanding of cooperatives, he said, was needed by students because cooperatives had important function to generate the state economy and equalise national welfare. He followed this by saying that quality improvement of cooperatives in Indonesia was important than the quantity.
“Cooperatives need not to be considerable in number, but they need to be of good quality,” he said.
Data from the Cooperatives Ministry said as many as 72,000 cooperatives are considered healthy, while 75,000 more need to be improved. On the other hand, there are 43,000 unhealthy ones that have to be disbanded.
Such reform is an answer to the President’s request that wanted cooperatives to progress and able to generate Indonesia’s economy. Going for two years after the implementation in 2014, the reorientation policy has shown significant progresses.
“Formerly, since the independence, Gross Domestic Product of cooperatives was always around one point something percent. But since 2016, it has reached almost four percent,” said Puspayoga. In the same year, entrepreneur ratio not exceeding 2% in the past has now reached 3.01%.
Amidst the trend in entrepreneurial business increase, cooperatives have proved their role as business credit distributors.
In the same place, Rector of UGM said that UGM cooperatives had real benefits for lecturers and students and it goes along with the vision and mission of UGM that has directed towards entrepreneurial development.
“There are two big cooperatives at UGM, KOPMA for the students and KOSUD for the staff,” he said.
He further encouraged the UGM students to be engaged in the cooperatives as a means to learn management and entrepreneurship. He hoped this would be useful for them and equip them with the necessary tools to run business after graduating from UGM.
“KOPMA UGM is an addition to the students’ skills for dealing with entrepreneurship directly. It is expected that they will have experience and spirit in entrepreneurship,” he said.