Lawmaker Questions Health Screening After Deaths of Kopdes Manager Candidates

A member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR), Tubagus Hasanuddin, has highlighted the health assessment process for prospective managers of the Kopdes Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives) and Koperasi Nelayan Merah Putih (Red and White Fishermen’s Cooperatives) prior to their participation in basic military training activities. According to him, if the health assessment process had been carried out comprehensively, there should have been no fatalities during the programme. “For instance, in the case of cardiac arrest, this should have been detected if the health assessment had been conducted properly,” Hasanuddin said when contacted on Saturday, 27 June 2026. He urged that the health assessment process be evaluated strictly so that the health screening of participants can be conducted more objectively and thoroughly. He also suggested that the physical military training portion should be removed, arguing that if the substance of the activity is to forge discipline and mentality for prospective managers, physical exercises such as running and push-ups are not relevant. “If the participants are being prepared for managerial positions in Kopdes, then the main focus should be on cooperative management training, organisational capacity building, and relevant technical training,” the PDIP politician stated. Four prospective Kopdes and Koperasi Nelayan Merah Putih managers were declared dead while participating in the basic military training activities. The four were Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, Anisa Muyassaroh, Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, and Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan. Novita attended the training at the Indonesian Air Force’s Doctrine Development, Education, and Training Command Language Centre in Jakarta. She died on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, on the sixth day after the training began on 17 June 2026. Anisa died a day later, on 18 June 2026, due to heat stroke while attending military training at the Mulawarman Regional Military Command Main Regiment Education Unit in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Yonanda was declared dead due to cardiac arrest on 17 June 2026. He was attending training at the Army Combat Training Centre Education Unit in Baturaja, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency, South Sumatra. Meanwhile, Rifki was recorded as attending basic military training at the Paratrooper Commando Battalion 465 Education Unit in East Jakarta. Before passing away, Rifki complained of shortness of breath. The Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence’s Secretariat General, Brigadier General Rico Sirait, expressed condolences over the incident. Regarding the health assessments, he stated that all participants had undergone various processes before being confirmed to participate in the basic military training, particularly concerning health checks. In Rifki’s case, he claimed that based on the selection results, the individual was declared eligible to participate in the education programme. Nevertheless, Rico added that his agency, together with the National Selection Committee and the education organisers, would conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the programme’s implementation. “The evaluation includes strengthening the health selection process, early detection of participants’ medical conditions, improving supervision by health workers during the education, and tracing participants with similar complaints across all education units,” he said in a written statement on Friday, 26 June 2026.