Viral KDMP Manager Recruitment Resembling Military Training, Agrinas CEO Responds

The recruitment process for prospective managers of the Village Red-and-White Cooperative (KDMP) has gone viral on social media because it resembles semi-military training. Agrinas Pangan Nusantara CEO Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota responded to the public scrutiny. In a social media post seen on Wednesday (17/6/2026), individuals described as KDMP manager candidates were seen wearing camouflage uniforms and undergoing training in barracks. Joao initially explained that his company is merely the recipient of the workforce that has completed the recruitment process. However, he considers the training important for developing national character, or nation character building. ‘I am the recipient, the end-user,’ Joao told reporters on Thursday (18/6/2026). ‘But as I see it, the basic military training is about nation character building,’ he added. Joao assessed that the training is relevant to the nation’s needs, citing the cooperative economic system as mandated by the constitution. ‘I think it is very relevant to this activity, considering that cooperatives are a constitutional mandate. Yet, for 80 years since Indonesia’s independence, the direction of the economy has been towards a free market. This means we are trying to return Indonesia’s economic direction to the constitutional path, so nation character building becomes very important, given that no university in Indonesia teaches about cooperatives anymore,’ Joao stated. He noted that the recruitment organiser is the central government through the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform and the National Civil Service Agency (BKN), while the training is assisted by the Ministry of Defence. ‘As far as I know, the organiser is BKN together with PAN-RB, who conduct the recruitment process. Then, for the training, they requested assistance from the Ministry of Defence. So it is similar to the SPPI (Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia) programme,’ he said. Joao added that candidates who successfully complete the recruitment process will become contract employees of Agrinas Pangan Nusantara.