Many cooperatives involved in illegal mining activities

Minister of Cooperatives and Small Scale Companies Suryadharma Ali acknowledged that many village cooperatives in Kalimantan have been involved in illegal coal mining activities, Kompas reported on Wednesday.

Speaking during an official visit in Banjarmasin on Tuesday, the minister said that many cooperatives in the province had been used by major business corporation to operate illegal coal mining activities.

"Such an activities will not only cause environmental problem but also damage the reputation of the cooperatives in the country. That's why the local government should be able to impose a strict punishment on such cooperatives," he said.

According to the minister, many cooperatives have been established against the principle of cooperatives determined by the government. "Many of them, for example, are established by several individuals or they even have only one member," he added. (*)