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View all search resultsKomnas HAM urges end to military training in Prabowo cooperative project
Launched in July last year, the "Red and White Cooperatives" programme aims to establish around 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia to create jobs and meet the government's target of 8 percent economic growth in 2029. They are intended to sell basic goods, subsidised cooking gas and fertiliser.
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Subcommission Coordinator for Human Rights Enforcement Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi, right, and Commissioner for Research and Studies Uli Parulian Sihombing, left, speak during a press conference on the presentation of preliminary findings and recommendations regarding the implementation and oversight of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program at the Komnas HAM office in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 15, 2026. Komnas HAM called for a comprehensive evaluation of the MBG program, citing concerns including an overly broad target beneficiary group that could affect program quality, as well as issues of transparency and oversight that require improvement. (Antara/Fauzan)
T
he National Commission on Human Rights on Sunday called on the government to end basic military training for prospective managers of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship village cooperative programme after five participants died just 10 days into the 45-day training.
Launched in July last year, the "Red and White Cooperatives" programme aims to establish around 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia to create jobs and meet the government's target of 8 percent economic growth in 2029. They are intended to sell basic goods, subsidised cooking gas and fertiliser.
The military training, which nearly 35,000 future cooperative managers must complete, started on June 14 and continues until July 31 in several regional military training units.
The agency "recommends the government stop ... the basic military training for the prospective managers of the cooperatives and fishing villages programmes, considering that cooperatives are economic institutions oriented in business management, services to members, and organisational governance," said Pramono Ubaid Tantowi, an official at the rights commission.
The Defence Ministry, which is leading the training, said on Saturday that five people died between June 17 and June 26, and the deaths were the result of a variety of causes including cardiac arrest, heat stroke, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
"The five participants have different medical conditions and received medical treatment according to the standard procedures," said Maj. Gen. Ketut Gede Wetan, head of human resource development at the ministry.
Ketut said all participants had undergone medical checks before joining the training and all were declared clear.
He said the focus of the training was not on combat skills and involved no strenuous physical activity.
The defence ministry said it would conduct a "comprehensive evaluation" of the training, which would include health monitoring, early detection of participants with health risks, and an adjustment to the intensity of the activities. The health ministry would also be involved in the training, it added.
Pramono said capacity-building for cooperative managers should focus on strengthening managerial competence, leadership, and financial literacy.
"Basic military training does not directly support the achievement of those competencies," he said.
The commission called for a government investigation into the deaths and urged police to immediately request forensic autopsies to get evidence regarding the cause of death as part of any criminal investigation.
