Indonesia has scaled back the military component of its training program for prospective managers of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship village cooperative initiative after five participants died during the first two weeks of the course, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.
The Defence Ministry is overseeing the training of nearly 35,000 participants at military training centers across the country. The 45-day program began on June 14 and is scheduled to run until July 31, with successful completion required before participants can assume managerial roles in the government's village cooperative network, Reuters reports.
The ministry said that five trainees died between June 17 and June 26 from various causes, including cardiac arrest, heat stroke, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
Following an internal review, the ministry announced significant changes to the program.
"The technical material and military tactics have been removed, including shooting activities. Physical intensity is also reduced and adjusted with the participants' backgrounds as civilians," Defence Ministry spokesperson Rico Sirait told Reuters.
He added that the revised program will instead focus on character building, discipline, leadership and partnerships.
The Defence Ministry said all five participants had been medically cleared before joining the program and maintained that the training did not involve strenuous physical activity.
The training is part of the government's "Red and White Cooperatives" initiative, launched last July, which aims to establish approximately 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia. The program is intended to create jobs, improve access to essential goods and support the government's goal of achieving 8% economic growth by 2029.
The cooperatives are expected to supply basic consumer goods, subsidized cooking gas and fertilizer to local communities.
The deaths have prompted growing scrutiny of the program. On June 28, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission called on the government to discontinue the mandatory military training for prospective cooperative managers.
The government has not indicated whether the program itself will be suspended, but the latest revisions mark a significant shift away from its original military-oriented format while retaining leadership and civic training as core components.
By Vafa Guliyeva
