PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—West Kalimantan must adapt Indonesia’s Merah Putih village cooperative program to the province’s vast territory and dispersed population. It should not replicate operating models designed for densely populated Java, Deputy Governor Krisantus Kurniawan said.

Krisantus made the statement while opening a coordination meeting on the verification and validation of Merah Putih Village/Subdistrict Cooperative (KDKMP) at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Pontianak on Wednesday, September 23.

He said distances between settlements and the relatively small populations of many villages could limit customer traffic. These distances could raise distribution costs and affect the commercial viability of cooperative outlets.

“In Java, the population density of one village can be comparable to that of an entire subdistrict in West Kalimantan, so the opportunity and probability of consumers shopping at a cooperative are much higher,” Krisantus said.

Official statistics support the geographical distinction. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) projected West Kalimantan’s 2026 population at about 5.84 million. At only 40 people per square kilometer, the average density is low.

By comparison, the BPS estimated densities of 1,381 people per square kilometer in West Java and 1,136 in Central Java. The BPS figures illustrate the wide regional gap.

West Kalimantan also contained 2,157 villages and urban wards in 2025, according to the province’s Statistics Indonesia office. Sintang alone had 407, while Kapuas Hulu had 282.

Some districts remain particularly sparsely populated: BPS estimated Kapuas Hulu’s density at nine people per square kilometer in 2026.

Despite those constraints, the provincial government continues to support KDKMP as a national program intended to strengthen village-level economic activity.

Presidential Instruction No. 9/2025 initially directed ministries and local governments to accelerate the establishment, development or revitalization of 80,000 cooperatives nationwide.

The regulation describes the program as part of the government’s rural economic strategy.

Krisantus said the cooperatives must become viable businesses rather than stop at incorporation documents or new buildings.

“Cooperatives should not merely become administrative institutions,” he said.

“They should develop as part of the community’s economic ecosystem, strengthen local businesses, shorten distribution chains, expand access to goods and services, and add value to local economic potential.”

He therefore asked verification teams to examine construction sites and supporting documents carefully. They must also assess whether residents can reach each proposed location and whether the surrounding market can sustain its operations.

“Verification and validation are not merely administrative activities or reporting obligations,” Krisantus said.

“They are instruments for ensuring that construction in the field complies with the rules and actual conditions and that officials can account for it.”

The process follows Presidential Instruction No. 17/2025 on accelerating the construction of cooperative outlets and warehouses.

Cooperative Ministerial Guideline No. 1/2026 provides the technical framework for inspecting those facilities before handover and operation. Both documents appear in the Cooperatives Ministry’s official legal database.

For West Kalimantan, successful implementation will depend on more than completing buildings. Local governments must ensure that each cooperative has an accessible location and a realistic customer base. They must create an operating model suited to the economy of its community.