Shooting Training Scrapped for Cooperative Manager Candidates After Five Deaths
The Ministry of Defence has abolished shooting drills for participants of the Indonesia Development Driver Undergraduate Programme (SPPI) following the deaths of prospective managers for the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives and Merah Putih Fishing Villages. The individuals were undergoing basic military training (Latsarmil).
The Head of the Defence Information Bureau of the Ministry of Defence Secretariat General, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, stated that the removal of shooting exercises was decided after an evaluation. Rico confirmed the existence of videos circulating on social media showing shooting drills for SPPI participants, but noted that such documentation was recorded prior to the recent evaluation.
“The documentation or coverage regarding the planned shooting activities was from last week, before the latest evaluation of the programme’s implementation,” Rico told Tempo on Monday, 29 June 2026.
As a follow-up to a joint evaluation, Rico stated that the Ministry of Defence is adjusting its approach to the activities. One of the changes involves renaming the basic military training to ‘National Defence Provision and Managerial Training’. This change in terminology is accompanied by an adjustment in curriculum; Rico noted that tactical and technical military activities have been reduced.
“This includes shooting, which is no longer part of the current training. The intensity of physical activities has also been reduced and adjusted to the participants’ backgrounds as civilians,” said Rico.
Rico added that the focus of the SPPI programme is now directed towards building discipline, character, leadership, cooperation, responsibility, national insight, and managerial readiness for participants serving as prospective managers for the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives and Merah Putih Fishing Villages.
The first wave of this training programme runs from 17 June to 31 July 2026, with a total of 35,476 participants. This group consists of 30,000 prospective managers for the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives and 5,476 prospective managers for the Merah Putih Fishing Villages.
However, five participants passed away during the ten-day implementation period. The deceased were Nola Dya Sari, Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, Anisa Muyassaroh, Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, and Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan.
Nola Dya Sari, who was training at the Kalimantan National Defence Education Unit, died on 26 June 2026 after complaining of shortness of breath and fever. On the same day, Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan, a participant at the 465 Commando Battalion Education Unit in East Jakarta, also passed away after experiencing similar symptoms. Rifki was known to have a history of hypertension and obesity.
Meanwhile, Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, a participant at the Indonesian Air Force Doctrine, Education, and Training Command Language Centre in Jakarta, died on 23 June 2026 due to active tuberculosis (TB).
Furthermore, Anisa Muyassaroh died one day after training commenced, on 18 June 2026, due to heatstroke while training at the Mulawarman Kodam Main Regiment Education Unit in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq died on the first day of training, 17 June 2026, due to cardiac arrest.