DPR Clarifies Alfamart-Indomaret Closure Rumors for Red and White Cooperatives

February 24, 2026 | 02:16 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) member Lasarus stated that the issue of the DPR supporting the closure of minimarkets, such as Alfamart and Indomaret, on social media is incorrect and baseless.

The Chairperson of DPR Commission V said that the discourse about the spread of minimarkets on social media featuring a photo of DPR Speaker Puan Maharani is inaccurate. This discourse was never delivered by Puan, but by Lasarus himself during a working meeting with the Minister of Village and Disadvantaged Region Development.

"I conveyed that and it can be witnessed through recorded videos of the meeting between Commission V of the DPR and the Minister of Village and Development of Disadvantaged Regions," said Lasarus in a written statement on Monday, February 23, 2026.

He explained that there was no statement supporting the closure of minimarkets during that meeting. In the meeting, Lasarus recounted various complaints from the public, especially from traditional retailers who were forced to close down due to competition with minimarkets.

According to him, traditional small retailers cannot compete with the expansion of minimarkets supported by conglomerates, which penetrate community businesses into remote areas and even hamlets across the archipelago. Therefore, based on these considerations, he continued, it was suggested that the expansion of Alfamart and Indomaret should not reach remote areas, but only district and sub-district areas.

With this situation, Lasarus argued, the supply chain of staple needs for rural communities could be supported by small retailers around the area, Village-Owned Enterprises, and the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP). "There is evidence from recorded videos that can be openly seen on the official news page of the DPR," said Lasarus.

Meanwhile, the discourse of closing down minimarkets for the interests of KDMP has been circulating on social media. One of the accounts that uploaded the claim of the DPR supporting the closure of minimarkets is the @bitorexpost account, which included a photo of Puan Maharani.

In the upload, the sentence "Breaking News: DPR Supports Minister of Village to Close Alfa-Indomaret for the Sake of Village Cooperatives" is written below Puan's photo. The image uploaded on Sunday, February 22, has now received over 28,000 likes, 22,000 comments, and over 16,000 reshares.

Lasarus emphasized that the post is false information, and its credibility cannot be accounted for. "The post is a hoax and tendentious," said the PDIP politician.

Prior to this, in November 2025, Commission V held a meeting with the Minister of Village and Development of Disadvantaged Regions to discuss the expansion of minimarkets into remote areas. Minister Yandri Susanto stated in that meeting that the extensive expansion of minimarkets could threaten the development of KDMP.

Yandri stated that the development of KDMP would not run optimally if the expansion of minimarkets is not regulated. "It means it's not an apple-to-apple comparison; they are already very big, very monopolistic," said Yandri.

Read: How Easing Halal Rules for US Products Affects Indonesian Businesses

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

DPR Urged to Oversee Indonesia's Gaza Peace Mission

1 hari lalu

Indonesia Agrees to Accept Patrol Boat Grant from Japan Worth Rp205bn

4 hari lalu

Ahmad Sahroni Returns as Deputy Chair of DPR Commission III

5 hari lalu

Dueling Strategies Amid Market Distress

9 hari lalu

The House's Proxies in the Constitutional Court

13 hari lalu

Indonesia's Finance Minister, Lawmakers Initiate 2027 State Budget Discussions

13 hari lalu

Survey Shows High Support for Prabowo, DPR Least Trusted

14 hari lalu

DPR: Govt Yet to Discuss Rp16tn Indonesia's Board of Peace Fee

18 hari lalu

DPR Ratifies 9 New Ombudsman Members for 2026-2031

26 hari lalu

Thomas Djiwandono Elected as Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor

28 hari lalu