Jakarta, May 3 -- The Red and White Village Cooperatives program, which the government is scheduled to launch on July 12, 2025, has stoked new hopes of building the national economy from the grassroots up, though this will not be without challenges.

The program has sparked much debate, with some people raising doubts on its effectiveness and sustainability given the complexity of the rural economy and the long history of Indonesian cooperatives that have not been completely successful.

However, upon closer look, the launch of the program does not seem to be a symbolic step, but a strategic measure to carry out a systemic reorientation of the national economic structure.

Expressing optimism about the program, a member of the supervision...