JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—The nationwide placement of prospective managers for Indonesia’s Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDKMP) has prompted complaints from candidates assigned far from their registered homes, including some sent to other provinces.

The Cooperative Village Management Information System (Simkopdes) published the placements on September 25. Candidates could view their assigned locations by checking their email and logging into their Simkopdes accounts.

Comments posted under related social media announcements showed that some candidates had expected assignments in their home districts or within commuting distance.

One candidate wrote, “I am from North Sumatra. Why was I assigned to Papua—from one end of Indonesia to the other?”

Other commenters asked the government to adopt a maximum placement radius or provide transport and accommodation support for managers sent to distant regions.

The comments represent individual experiences and do not establish that the entire placement process operated randomly.

Simkopdes said the system considered proximity to a candidate’s home but could not use distance as its only factor. It also assessed family circumstances, building readiness, available positions and staffing needs across regions.

The system used Hungarian and bipartite matching methods to find an overall allocation between candidates and available cooperatives. It initially matched managers with locations in their home regions and prioritized cooperative buildings that were fully completed.

When a home region lacked an operational location, had already filled its available positions or had buildings that were not ready, the system could assign a manager elsewhere.

Simkopdes then matched the remaining candidates with sites showing the highest construction progress.

“Because each location can only accept managers according to its quota, the nearest site is not always available to everyone,” Simkopdes said in its public explanation, as quoted by Bisnis Indonesia.

Cooperatives Ministry Secretary Ahmad Zabadi also said recruitment had not allocated candidates according to predetermined regional quotas.

Some areas consequently had more successful applicants than available cooperative sites, while other regions still needed managers.

Simkopdes reported that the system had assigned 28,620 prospective managers. Of that total, 55.69 percent received locations within 10 kilometers of their homes, while 71.91 percent remained within 50 kilometers.

The median placement distance was 6.53 kilometers. Simkopdes also said 65.14 percent stayed within their original regency or city, while 88.28 percent remained in their home province. It placed 11.27 percent—or approximately 3,225 people—across provincial boundaries.

Those figures indicate that most candidates received relatively local assignments. However, they do not address the practical burden faced by the minority required to relocate between islands or distant provinces.

The government’s public explanation did not provide detailed information about an appeal or reassignment mechanism. It also did not clarify whether cross-province managers would receive additional relocation, transport or housing support.

The government initially advertised 30,000 KDKMP manager positions. An official May 2026 release recorded 639,732 applicants, of whom 483,648 passed the administrative screening stage.

The recruitment supports the government’s broader program to develop about 80,000 village and urban cooperatives under Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2025.

The cooperatives are intended to operate businesses such as basic-goods outlets, pharmacies, storage facilities and logistics services.

More than 85 percent of the selected candidates had reportedly completed their offer letters by September 28.

The government expects managers to begin taking up their assignments in early October, making clear relocation rules and a workable review process important for retaining qualified personnel.