DPR Calls for Evaluation of Kopdes Training Militarisation After Two Deaths
House of Representatives Commission I member TB Hasanuddin has requested that the Ministry of Defence and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) evaluate the Basic Military Training (Latsarmil) for the Pioneering Scholars for Indonesian Development (SPPI) programme for the Red and White Village Cooperatives and Fishermen’s Villages, following the deaths of two participants.
TB Hasanuddin stated he had received information that the two participants died due to illness and heat stroke. “One due to illness, the second due to heat stroke. So, in my opinion, it must be evaluated,” TB Hasanuddin said at the parliament complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/6).
He said the evaluation must include health checks for prospective participants wishing to join the training. According to him, it is acceptable for prospective village cooperative and fishing village managers to receive basic military material. However, he stressed that material on cooperative management is more important.
“Perhaps just the material. The military aspects in the context of the military, like shooting practice, then marching, being out in the heat, should be reduced. It would be better to provide training on cooperative management,” he said.
The Ministry of Defence had previously confirmed the tragic news during the training of prospective village cooperative and fishing village managers. The ministry expressed its deepest condolences over the deaths of two participants in the 2026 SPPI programme for the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDKMP) and Red and White Fishermen’s Villages (KNMP).
The two victims died separately while attending Basic Military Training at TNI educational units. A participant named Anisa Muyassaroh, who was undergoing training at the Dodikjur Rindam VI/Mulawarman unit in Balikpapan, experienced health problems on 18 June. The Ministry of Defence stated the victim received medical treatment at the unit’s health facility before being referred to a hospital. Based on medical information, the death of victim Anisa was due to excessive exposure to hot weather, or heat stroke.
“Based on medical information, the individual was declared dead due to heat stroke,” said Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, Head of the Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence’s Secretariat General, in a written statement on Tuesday (23/6).
Meanwhile, a participant named Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, who was undergoing training at the Puslatpur Kodiklatad Baturaja educational unit, experienced a decline in health on 17 June. The Ministry of Defence also stated the victim had received treatment from the unit’s medical personnel before being referred to a hospital. Rico said that based on medical information, the individual was declared dead due to cardiac arrest.
The Ministry of Defence asserted that before the training at each military facility was conducted, the participants had been selected and undergone health checks. “It should be conveyed that before joining the programme, both participants had passed the selection stages in accordance with applicable regulations, including health checks, and were declared to have met the requirements to attend the education series,” Rico said.