DPR Commission XIII: Military Basic Training Must Be Evaluated, Not Scrapped

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission XIII, Sugiat Santoso, has stated that the military basic training (Latsarmil) for participants of the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme, part of the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDKMP) and Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih (KNMP) initiatives, must be evaluated without eliminating the programme’s overarching objectives. He also expressed his condolences over the deaths of several participants during the training. According to him, participant safety must be a top priority in every government programme. “An evaluation is needed to ensure that safety standards, supervision, and programme governance are improved so that similar incidents do not recur,” Sugiat said in Jakarta on Tuesday. He stated that improvements are required across all aspects of programme implementation, from planning and execution to the supervisory system. Every government programme must be run professionally with robust standards, risk mitigation, and field supervision. “This must start with the proper recording of prospective participants’ conditions before they take part in activities,” he said. He therefore urged that the incident should not obscure the strategic objectives of the KDKMP and KNMP, which are presidential priority programmes aimed at strengthening the village economy, improving public welfare, and promoting people’s economic self-reliance. “This programme must continue because its benefits for the community are immense,” he said. According to Sugiat, what needs to be fixed is the implementation mechanism and governance, not the termination of a programme designed to improve public welfare. “The spirit of developing villages, strengthening cooperatives, and improving the welfare of fishermen must not stop. Instead, we must ensure that the entire series of programmes is carried out with higher safety standards and better governance,” he said.