Defence Ministry Cuts Cooperative Manager Training to Two Weeks After Deaths

The Ministry of Defence has reduced the duration of training after five participants died in the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KDKMP) and Merah Putih Fishing Village (KNMP). Deputy Defence Minister Donny Ermawan stated that an evaluation led to the revision of the programme into a state defence training course. “Initially they were also going to become reserve components, but we have decided they will only be given state defence education and training,” Donny said at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (1/7). Under the revision, Donny said participants will no longer receive lessons related to weapons or military tactics. “So they are only given lessons related to nationalism, patriotism, and discipline. Following the daily schedule also trains their time discipline,” he said. Donny added that participants are taught leadership skills as preparation for managing cooperatives and fishing villages. “A manager certainly has several staff members to lead. How to train togetherness and cooperation. Those are the values we will provide,” he said. The evaluation also covered the training duration. Initially, the training for the reserve component was scheduled for one month. After being converted to state defence training, the duration was shortened to two weeks. Donny said that afterwards, participants will receive training and education from relevant ministries. “The remaining one month is for managerial education and training, depending on the direction of the SPPI. If it is for cooperatives, they will be given more material and modules related to cooperatives; if for fishing villages, they will receive modules related to fishing villages. Of course, the material will be provided by the respective ministries,” he explained. Donny said the Ministry of Defence has formed an investigation team to follow up on the incident that caused the deaths of the five participants. “We have formed it and we will follow up to examine or search for additional data on why this could have happened,” he stated.