JAKARTA, July 1, 2026 – Indonesia has scaled back basic military training for prospective managers of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship village cooperative programme following the deaths of five participants in the opening weeks of the exercise, and amid growing calls for the scheme to be scrapped.
The defence ministry, which is overseeing the programme, confirmed on Tuesday that the training format had been restructured after an internal review. Technical military instruction, including shooting exercises, has been removed, and physical intensity has been reduced and adjusted to suit civilian participants.
Rico Sirait, a defence ministry spokesperson, said the revised approach would now focus on “building character, discipline, leadership, and partnerships”.
The adjustment follows mounting scrutiny after five trainees died between June 17 and June 26 during the 45-day programme, which began on June 14 and is scheduled to end on July 31. The causes of death included cardiac arrest, heat stroke, tuberculosis, and pneumonia, according to the ministry. It said all participants had passed medical screening prior to enrolment and had received appropriate treatment.
Nearly 35,000 prospective cooperative managers are taking part in the training across regional military facilities. Candidates must complete the programme before assuming roles in the government-backed “Red and White Cooperatives” initiative, which aims to establish around 80,000 village cooperatives to create jobs and boost economic growth to 8 per cent by 2029. The cooperatives are intended to distribute basic goods, subsidised cooking gas, and fertiliser.
The deaths have intensified criticism from Indonesia’s human rights commission, which on Sunday urged the government to end the military-style training altogether. The commission argued that cooperative management requires business and organisational skills rather than military discipline.
“Basic military training does not directly support the achievement of those competencies,” said Pramono Ubaid Tantowi, a commission official, who instead called for a focus on managerial competence, leadership, and financial literacy.
The commission has also urged a full investigation into the deaths and called for forensic autopsies to establish the causes, raising the possibility of criminal inquiry.
The defence ministry has said it will carry out a “comprehensive evaluation” of the programme, including improved health monitoring and early detection of at-risk participants, and confirmed that the health ministry will now be involved in oversight.
Prabowo Subianto, a former general who took office in 2024, has expanded the role of the military in civilian programmes, including the cooperative initiative at the centre of the current controversy.
https://thecooperator.news/indonesia-village-cooperatives-to-tackle-job-scarcity-in-communities/
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