Government Insists 'Red and White' Village Cooperative Programme Will Continue Despite Fatalities

The government has confirmed that the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperative) programme will continue despite an incident that resulted in the deaths of several participants during related activities. Deputy Minister of State Secretary Juri Ardiantoro stressed that the handling of the incident would be conducted separately from the ongoing implementation of the cooperative programme. He explained that risk mitigation for a programme and the handling of an incident are two different matters. “The mitigation is certainly different between the Koperasi Merah Putih programme, the provision of resources to manage it, and matters related to events or incidents like that, which will be handled as best as possible,” Juri said on Thursday (25/6). He explained that the government will ensure that any incidents occurring during the programme’s implementation receive appropriate handling. However, these incidents will not affect the continuity of the programme, which is designed to strengthen the village economy through cooperative development. According to Juri, the government’s current focus is to ensure the programme continues to run according to its objectives while handling the impact of the events professionally and responsibly. Therefore, the government is separating the technical evaluation of the programme from the handling of the incident that resulted in casualties. This step is considered important so that the goal of village economic development through the Koperasi Merah Putih can be continued. “Matters related to the incident will be handled as best as possible and will certainly be separated from the activities or continuation of this programme, so the Koperasi Merah Putih programme will definitely continue,” he stated. It was previously reported that the death toll from the basic military training for the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangun Indonesia (SPPI) programme, which prepares managers for the cooperatives, has risen to three. The latest participant reported to have died was Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang. She passed away on Tuesday (23/6) after experiencing health problems during the training. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, her health condition was related to tuberculosis. Before Novia, two other participants, Anisa Muyassaroh and Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, also died during the training. Anisa reportedly died from heat stroke during training in Balikpapan, while Yonanda died during training in Baturaja. Juri stressed that all supervisory apparatus, including the Ombudsman, can exercise their authority to ensure the programme runs according to regulations.