Defence Ministry: No More Weapons or Military Tactics Training for Prospective Cooperative Managers

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed there will be no more training with weapons or military tactics in the training for Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) for the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDKMP) programme. Deputy Minister of Defence Donny Ermawan stated that this is the result of an evaluation following the deaths of five SPPI participants. He said the training for SPPI KDKMP is now very different from before. “We have revised this programme. Whereas previously they would also become reserve components, we have now determined that they will only be given state defence education and training,” Donny said after a meeting with Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Wednesday. According to him, participants are now only given lessons related to nationalism, patriotism, and discipline. He said the discipline training referred to means participants need to be disciplined in following their daily schedules. In essence, he said the training provided is also about leadership so that prospective cooperative managers are equipped. This is because a manager will later have a number of staff to lead. “How to train togetherness and cooperation. Those are the values we will provide,” he said.