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View all search resultsPressure mounts for probe into five deaths in military-run cooperative training
Just 10 days after the nationwide training began on June 14, five participants had died across multiple regions. The military said they died following various medical emergencies, including heatstroke, cardiac arrest and pneumonia.
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Participants in basic military training for prospective managers of the Red and White Cooperatives program chant slogans at the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade in Cilandak, Jakarta on June 25, 2026. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
T
he deaths of five prospective managers of the government's flagship cooperatives and fishing village program during mandatory military-style training have sparked calls for a transparent investigation into the incident.
Syawaluddin Sitohang, the father of 25-year-old Novia Rahmadhani Sitohang, one of the five trainees who died, said the loss remains difficult to comprehend, as his daughter had been in good health when she left home to join the program.
“Although the family has come to terms with Novia's death, We are still waiting for an official explanation of the circumstances surrounding it. As of today, no one has told me what caused my daughter's death. She left home healthy, and she came back dead," Syawaluddin told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He said he had spoken to Novia by phone two days before her death and that she had sounded healthy, upbeat and had not complained of any health problems.
"I still remember our phone call two days before she passed away. She told me she was doing well and had no complaints. She sounded full of spirit. That's why I never imagined she would leave us so soon," he said.
Novia left her hometown of Padangsidempuan, North Sumatra, on June 13 to attend mandatory training at the Air Force Education Center in East Jakarta, shortly after being accepted as a prospective manager for a government fishing village program. She died just 10 days later.
At a press conference, the Defense Ministry, which oversees the training program, said Novia began experiencing a cough, shortness of breath and a fever a day before her death.
