Three SPPI Kopdes-KNMP Basic Military Training Participants Die, House Commission I Demands Evaluation of Training Standards

Deputy Chairman of House Commission I, Dave Laksono, is urging the Ministry of Defence and military instructors to conduct a total evaluation of the basic training scheme for the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) programme for the Koperasi Desa (Kopdes) and Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih. This evaluation is deemed urgent following reports that three participants died while undergoing the training. Dave expressed his condolences over the deaths of the three prospective managers for the Kopdes and Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih programme. He stressed that public feedback regarding this incident must be accepted as momentum to improve this strategic state programme. “We extend our deepest condolences over the passing of the three SPPI participants. If there are things that need to be fixed or changed, that is input that must be accepted to perfect the programme, so that this programme created for the benefit of the nation and society can truly run well,” Dave said in a statement on Thursday. Dave stated that based on initial information he received, the entire recruitment process, including health screening for participants, had actually been carried out according to applicable procedures. Although the training provided by TNI instructors is basic material, Dave assessed that the aspect of physical load must be recalculated. The Golkar Party politician emphasised that the field training curriculum should have been specially designed from the start to be adaptive and only executed by participants with a certain level of fitness. “This training is very basic. However, it must indeed be designed to be carried out by those who have a certain fit condition. So this must become input so that it can be continuously improved and perfected in the future,” Dave said. On the other hand, Dave also responded to President Prabowo Subianto’s statement expressing pride in the phenomenon of Indonesian soldiers going directly into the rice fields to oversee the national food security programme. He rejected the view of some parties who consider the massive involvement of military personnel in civilian spaces as a form of the return of the Armed Forces’ Dual Function doctrine from the New Order era. According to him, this step is a form of optimising the TNI’s presence as a pillar of sovereignty beyond the conventional security sector. “Of course, it is a source of pride that the Indonesian military is not returning to the New Order dual function, but rather optimising the TNI’s presence to truly become the backbone of the nation, upholding sovereignty in various sectors,” he asserted. Dave added that in the modern era, the spectrum of state threats has shifted massively. Therefore, the involvement of the TNI is considered strategic to strengthen national resilience in other crucial sectors that directly impact people’s lives. “Because sovereignty includes food sovereignty, energy sovereignty, digital sovereignty. This is where the TNI’s functions are truly optimised,” Dave concluded. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a female participant of the SPPI programme for the Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih 2026 programme, Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, died after undergoing education at the Pusbahasa Kodiklatau Education Unit in Jakarta. Novia’s death adds to the list of civilian participants who perished in the ministry’s training programme. Before Novia, two other SPPI programme participants being prepared to become managers of the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih and Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih were also declared dead while attending basic military training. The two participants were Anisa Muyassaroh and Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq. Anisa reportedly died from heat stroke while attending education at the Dodikjur Rindam VI/Mulawarman Education Unit in Balikpapan.