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enior members of Jakarta’s Paskibra flag-raising team ordered junior team members to strip and do push-ups on top of each other during their paramilitary training orientation in Cibubur, a team member said.

“The exercise, called ‘cold push-ups’ is an old tradition, and is usually conducted during Paskibra training sessions to please our superiors,” a junior male member told reporters on Saturday.

“I never thought of it as an odd exercise. I am just glad to have gotten through the training,” the candidate said.

The student’s statement was confirmed by a Paskibraka Full Corps (PPI) report released Friday.

The PPI is a government-appointed institution assigned to select Paskibra and Paskibraka members across the country. Trainers came from students selected between 2006 and 2009.

According to the report, Ferdinand Diamor Tacazily, the senior who ordered the punishment, denied that the exercise was an “old tradition”, but acknowledged that it was sometimes used as a punishment for students that were late.

The report also denied allegations of sexual harassment against junior female members of the Paskibra.

Parents of six female 2010 Paskibra team members reported that their children were forced to walk naked from their bathroom to their sleeping barracks.

“There were several occasions during our afternoon baths that we were only allowed to bring towels and were not allowed to bring clean clothes,” a junior female member said.

Several of her friends often experienced similar incidents, where their towels went missing and they were forced to run naked to their bedrooms to change clothes, she added.

She regretted her parents’ decision to raise the case before the media, fearing that the story might be blown out of proportion.

“A senior slapped me after I made a mistake. I think the training will help me learn discipline and a sense of partnership,” she said, adding that she was happy with the training.

Parents plan to meet to determine their course of action, parent Made Wiratma said.

“Each parent has different opinions about the incident,” Made said, claiming that his daughter was different after the training.

“It was hard. It took two weeks before she spoke about her training,” he added.

Training should emphasize improving participants’ understanding and love of their country, education expert Darmaningtyas said.

“The trainers should have strong knowledge of our country, and should not just be led by other teenagers that have gone through the same training,” Darmaningtyas said. (rch)