House Speaker Urges SPPI Cooperative Programme to Focus Solely on Managerial Training

House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani has requested that training for participants of the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme for the Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDKMP) and Red and White Fishermen Cooperatives (KNMP) be focused on managerial education. The statement was made in response to an evaluation of the basic military training (latsarmil) component within the programme. Puan stressed that a comprehensive evaluation is essential following reports that several participants died during the training process. She expressed hope that such a tragic incident would not recur in the future. “It would be better to focus solely on managerial skills so that implementation can proceed as expected,” Puan said during a press conference after a plenary session at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday. The PDI Perjuangan politician also conveyed her deepest condolences for the fallen SPPI participants. She assured that the DPR will continue to oversee the government’s evaluation process to ensure the programme’s future implementation is safer and more targeted. “An evaluation has been carried out, and we hope it is an evaluation that can be implemented thoroughly,” she added. Previously, the Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) decided to halt the basic military training for prospective KDKMP and KNMP managers. The move was taken after Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin conducted an in-depth evaluation of the programme’s learning system. The Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry’s Secretariat General, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, explained that a shift in the activity approach has been made. The main focus has now been redirected from military drills to state defence briefings and managerial skills. “The Ministry of Defence is adjusting the activity approach. The terminology and implementation of activities are currently directed towards State Defence and Managerial Briefing Training, no longer basic military training,” Rico said in Jakarta on Monday. The decision follows the incident in which five basic military training participants died. With this format change, Rico confirmed that the portion of physical activities related to military drills will be significantly reduced to ensure the safety of participants.