Constitutional Court (MK) stated that Act 17/2012 about Cooperatives (Act of Cooperatives) opposes 1945 Constitution. As delivered by the Head of MK Hamdan Zoelva, accompanied with the other eight judges in the Verdict session of Cooperatives Act Judicial Review- cases 28/PUU-XI/2013, Wednesday (28/5).

“Ruling to grant Applicants 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8’s pleading” Hamdan Zoelva said. Applicant 3 is Center of East Java Women’s Cooperatives (Puskowanjati), Applicant 5 is Center of East Java Assakinah BUEKA Cooperatives, Applicant 6 is Indonesian Dairy Cooperatives Joint, Applicant 7 is Agung Haryono (member of UNM Cooperatives), and Applicant 8 is Mulyono, retired Telkom employee.

According to MK, bordering Cooperatives business to only four areas will hamper creativity to expand Cooperatives’ business. Alongside with the development of technology and science, business vision of Cooperatives is also expanding. The settlement doesn’t suit empirical aspects of ongoing Cooperatives business. Within the Act, cooperatives should shut other business in order to keep its main business running.   

Many multi purposes cooperatives has shown good result. Furthermore, small scale cooperative depends on multi purposes business due to its limited employee and capital. Single purposes cooperative opposes the cooperative’s reality to fulfill the agenda of prosperous society.

As imply for limited corporation (PT), Act of PT doesn’t limit the business area. Cooperative’s function to rationalize economic flow won’t be clogged, if only the business area of functioned cooperative didn’t get amputate. Hence, the Applicants’ pleading is legally reasonable.

Besides, Act of Cooperative doesn’t suit the philosophical terms of cooperative’s reality. Cooperatives lost its constitutional spirit of being cooperation-based economic entity.(Nano Tresna Arfana/mh)