Puan Calls for Managerial Focus in Village Cooperative Manager Training

House Speaker Puan Maharani has urged that the training programme for prospective managers of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives (KDMP) and Merah Putih Fishermen Cooperatives (KNMP) focus solely on managerial skills. Puan called for the removal of the military-style training programme following the deaths of five participants during the basic military training (Latsarmil) that was part of the programme. ‘The activities carried out should be more focused on managerial aspects so that the implementation can proceed as expected,’ Puan said in a statement on Tuesday (30/6). Puan expressed her condolences to the families of the victims who died during the Latsarmil. The PDIP chairperson stressed that such an incident must not happen again and urged a thorough evaluation of the training programme. However, she supported the government’s decision to replace the Latsarmil with a state defence training programme, in addition to managerial training. ‘So the evaluation is comprehensive, and we will see what evaluations have been carried out. We will follow up later. We will see first,’ she said. Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence’s Secretariat General, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, stated that the removal was in line with the ministry’s decision to discontinue basic military training (Latsarmil) for SPPI participants. As a replacement, the ministry is conducting a State Defence and Managerial Preparation Training programme. Under the new training format, physical activities and other military-related training will also be reduced. In addition, the Ministry of Defence will pay closer attention to participants’ health conditions to ensure the education process for prospective cooperative managers can proceed safely and orderly. ‘With these adjustments, tactical and technical military activities are reduced, including shooting activities which are no longer part of the current training,’ Rico said when confirmed in Jakarta on Monday (29/6).