Padang Panjang was established as the City of Sharia Cooperatives in West Sumatra

Padang (ANTARA) - The Padang Panjang was established as the City of Sharia Cooperatives in W Sumatra because the City has a commitment to convert all conventional cooperatives in the area to sharia patterns.

"In the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJM), Padang Panjang stipulates that in 2023, all cooperatives in the area have adopted a sharia pattern," said Head of the West Sumatra Cooperative and SMEs Office, Zirma Yusri in Padang, on Wednesday.

At present there are 45 active cooperatives in the area. From that total 22 units have been converted into sharia systems. So the ratio of cooperatives that have used the sharia pattern in Padang Panjang is around 48.88 percent.

Zirma added that the ratio was the highest in W Sumatra, furthermore with a commitment in the RPJMD to make Padang Panjang worth to be the City of Sharia Cooperatives.

The Padang Panjang City Government believes that cooperatives with a sharia pattern have many benefits, especially to eliminate the prejudice in financial management in the cooperative so far.

The principle of managing sharia cooperative based on the agreement of both parties is believed to be able to improve the image of cooperatives to become one of the financial institutions that is still trusted by the community.

The determination of Padang Panjang as the City of Sharia Cooperatives was carried out directly by the Governor of W Sumatra, Irwan Prayitno on the commemoration of the 73rd Cooperative Day 2020 in Padang.

On that occasion, the governor encouraged cooperatives to use digital technology to expand markets, then innovate products.

"Cooperatives must enter the leading national economic sectors such as food, commodities, maritime, tourism and the manufacturing industry. Also enter the creative economy sector with young generation market potential," he explained.

He said, it is not limited to conventional cooperatives, but also to Islamic cooperatives.