DPR to Summon Defence Ministry Over Deaths of Five Cooperative Manager Trainees
House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I will soon summon the Ministry of Defence and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to discuss the deaths of five prospective managers of the ‘Red and White’ village cooperatives (Kopdes). The five participants of the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme died while undergoing basic military training.
Commission I Chairman Utut Adianto confirmed that a meeting has been scheduled. ‘They will be summoned in the near future,’ Utut said at the DPR complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, 30 June 2026. He expressed concern over the deaths and stressed the importance of receiving an explanation from the Ministry of Defence and the TNI as the organisers of the activity. Utut urged the public not to make assumptions about the tragic incident. ‘So we must hear from them how it happened, we will ask,’ the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician stated.
The deaths of the five prospective cooperative managers during the basic military training have drawn sharp criticism. A number of civil society and religious organisations have demanded that the physical activities be halted. Katib Syuriyah of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), Hilmy Muhammad, urged the government to stop the programme. ‘Please stop the programme first and conduct an investigation. The deaths of these five people are completely unacceptable and cannot be justified by any character-building pretext,’ Hilmy said in Yogyakarta on Sunday, 28 June 2026.
DPR Speaker Puan Maharani opined that the training should focus on managerial aspects, as managerial skills are more necessary for the prospective managers’ future duties. She stopped short of explicitly demanding the military-style training be halted but warned that no more lives should be lost. Puan also called for a comprehensive evaluation by the government. ‘We will follow up later. We will see the evaluation first,’ the PDI-P Central Executive Board chairwoman said on Tuesday, 30 June 2026.
The five participants who died during the basic military training were Nola Dya Sari, Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, Anisa Muyassaroh, Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, and Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan. Nola Dya Sari, who was training at the State Defence Education Unit in Kalimantan, died on 26 June 2026 after complaining of shortness of breath and fever. On the same day, Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan, a participant at the Para Commando Battalion (Yonko) 465 Education Unit in East Jakarta, also died after experiencing similar symptoms. Rifki was known to have a history of hypertension and obesity.
Meanwhile, Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, a participant at the Indonesian Air Force Doctrine Development, Education, and Training Command Language Centre, died on 23 June 2026 from active tuberculosis. Anisa Muyassaroh died a day after training began on 18 June 2026 due to heat stroke while training at the Mulawarman Regional Military Command Main Regiment Education Unit in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq died on the first day of training, 17 June 2026, from cardiac arrest.
The Ministry of Defence has decided to reduce the intensity of military-style physical and tactical activities. Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, Head of the Defence Information Bureau, stated that for the remainder of the basic training, activities would be limited to instilling discipline and basic fitness. Rico added that the ministry had already mapped the physical capabilities of the prospective Kopdes managers. ‘Participants with medical conditions or health risk factors have been given a special white ribbon marker and are not given excessive physical activities,’ he said. The ministry has also reduced physical disciplinary measures, ensuring that any actions taken against participants who break the rules are measured and oriented towards educational development.