Three Candidate Managers Die, Palace Says Village Cooperative Programme Will Continue

Deputy Minister of the State Secretariat Juri Ardiantoro has affirmed that the Merah Putih Village Cooperative and Merah Putih Fishermen’s Village Cooperative programmes will continue, despite the deaths of three prospective managers during basic military training for reserve components. He assured that mitigation efforts and programme evaluations are being conducted following the incident.

“The mitigation is naturally different between the cooperative programme itself, the provision of resources to manage it, and matters related to such events. It will be handled as well as possible,” Juri said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, 24 June 2026.

Juri stated that what occurred during the preparation of human resources for the cooperatives must be separated from the continuation of the programme. He stressed that the government programme will not be halted. “And of course, it is separated from the activities or the continuation of this programme. So, the Merah Putih Cooperative programme will certainly continue,” he said.

The Ministry of Defence has released the names of three candidate managers who died during the basic military training for reserve components. They are Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, Anisa Muyassaroh, and Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq.

Novita was undergoing training at the Indonesian Air Force’s Language Centre for Doctrine Development, Education, and Training Command in Jakarta. Anisa was training at the Mulawarman Regional Military Command’s Main Regiment Education Unit in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Yonanda was training at the Army Combat Training Centre Education Unit in Baturaja, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency, South Sumatra.

The basic military training for over 35,000 prospective managers of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives and Merah Putih Fishermen’s Village Cooperatives lasts 45 days, having commenced on 17 June 2026. A total of 35,476 candidate cooperative managers are participating in the training.

Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence’s Secretariat General, stated that prior to the programme, all participants underwent a selection process in accordance with applicable regulations, including health checks, and were declared eligible to take part in the training.