Defence Ministry Explains Why Prospective Cooperative Managers Received Military Training

The Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) has explained why participants in the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme for the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDKMP) and Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih (KNMP) were given basic military training. Deputy Minister of Defence Donny Ermawan stated that the military possesses excellent values for shaping the character of prospective managers for the red and white cooperatives and fishing villages. He said one of the key values taught is discipline. “Because these managers in the field will also need to be good managers. We cannot have managers who cannot carry out their duties or lead their staff,” Donny said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/7). He noted that character building through TNI educational institutions is not new. According to him, many ministries and private companies send their employees to TNI training centres or the Ministry of Defence’s State Defence Centre to improve the quality of their human resources. “Those are the values that the directors of these companies want to obtain. Naturally, a director would be pleased to have employees who are disciplined, punctual, and have high integrity. That is what is expected,” he said. The Ministry of Defence has now revised the training concept following the deaths of five participants. The activity is no longer emphasised as basic military training, but rather as State Defence and Managerial Training. “Initially, they were also going to become a reserve component. We have now decided that they will only be given State Defence education and training,” Donny said. With this revision, Donny stated that participants will no longer receive lessons related to weapons or military tactics. “So they are only given lessons related to nationalism, patriotism, and discipline, such as following a daily schedule which also trains their time discipline,” he said. Donny explained that participants are given leadership lessons for when they later lead cooperatives. “A manager naturally has several staff members they must lead. How to train togetherness and cooperation. Those are the values we will provide,” he said. The evaluation also covers the duration of the training. Initially, the training for the reserve component was scheduled for one month. After becoming state defence training, the duration was shortened to two weeks. Donny said that afterwards, the participants receive training and education from the relevant ministries. “The remaining one month is for managerial education and training, depending on the direction of this SPPI. Those heading to cooperatives will be given more material and modules related to cooperatives, while those heading to fishing villages will be given modules related to fishing villages. Naturally, the material is provided by the respective ministries,” he said.