Five SPPI Participants Die During Military-Style Training, Golkar: Participant Safety Must Be a Priority!

Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VI, Nurdin Halid, has expressed his deep condolences over the death of five participants of the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme during training for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KDMP) and Merah Putih Fishermen Cooperative (KNMP) programmes. He stated that the incident must serve as a moment for a thorough evaluation of the programme’s implementation, covering both participant safety and the effectiveness of the curriculum in preparing human resources to manage cooperatives professionally. Nurdin Halid emphasised that the SPPI has a strategic role in preparing excellent human resources to drive the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives, which are intended to be the engine for strengthening the village economy. Therefore, the programme’s execution must prioritise safety standards without compromising the quality of competency development needed to manage cooperatives professionally and sustainably. ‘We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased participants. The government needs to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the entire training sequence, from the health selection process and supervision of participants’ physical condition during education, to the readiness of the medical handling system. Participant safety must be the top priority in every human resource development programme,’ he said in a statement on Sunday, 27 June 2026. Beyond the safety aspect, Nurdin assessed that curriculum improvements must also be continuously pursued so that SPPI graduates are truly ready to manage the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives professionally. He noted that the training materials should strengthen the technical and managerial competencies required for modern cooperative operations, including stock-taking and inventory management skills, visual merchandising to enhance product appeal, adaptive marketing and sales strategies, and mastery of accounting, auditing, and accountable financial governance. With these skills, the cooperative drivers are expected to build village cooperatives that are healthy, efficient, competitive, and sustainable as drivers of the community economy. Nurdin Halid expressed hope that the government’s evaluation would result in comprehensive improvements to the SPPI’s governance, enhancing training quality without lowering participant safety standards. He argued that the success of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative programme is determined not only by the size of the government’s investment but also by the quality of the human resources prepared to ensure the cooperatives can grow in a healthy, accountable, and sustainable manner.