The Ministry of Defense Straightens the Issue of Red and White Cooperative Participants Receiving Rp10 Million Salary

Training of red and white cooperative participants (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has clarified information on social media that said participants in the Red and White Village/Neighborhood Cooperative (KDKMP) and Red and White Fishermen's Village (KNMP) received salaries of up to Rp. 10 million. The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the funds received by participants were not monthly salaries, but pocket money from the education implementation budget.

The Head of the Ministry of Defense Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM), Major General TNI Ketut Gede Wetan, said information about participants in the Red and White Village/Neighborhood Cooperative (KDKMP) and Red and White Fishermen's Village (KNMP) training who were said to have received a salary of Rp. 10 million was incorrect information.

"Regarding the information that during education you get a salary, it's not. What exists is this education mechanism, one of which is from the education implementation post, the largest of which is the allowance," said Ketut, Sunday, August 9.

Ketut explained, each training participant received a stipend of IDR 1 million per month. The training lasted for 1.5 months so that participants who followed the entire series of education until it was completed received a total of IDR 1.5 million in stipends.

Thus, the funds are different from the regular salary or fixed income received every month.

In the first phase, the Red and White Cooperative training was attended by 35,476 participants. This number consists of 30,000 prospective KDKMP managers and 5,476 prospective managers and operational staff of KNMP.

Of this number, 33,785 participants managed to complete their education. Meanwhile, some of the other participants had to stop due to health factors or return to their original profession.

The intensive training is designed to equip prospective cooperative managers with various competencies needed in running community economic institutions.

The training material covers managerial competencies, leadership, and professional institutional governance. The Ministry of Defense hopes that these capabilities can support the existence of cooperatives as a driving force for the economy at the village level.

Apart from the managerial and cooperative governance capabilities, the Ministry of Defense also emphasized the importance of integrity for participants who have completed their education.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General TNI Tri Budi Utomo, said that graduates would have an important role when they returned to carry out their duties in the community.

"SPPI graduates are expected to be drivers of development that are integral, adaptive, and professional. You must be able to build synergy with local governments, the business world, and all stakeholders to strengthen the economic independence of the community," said Tri Budi.

The Red and White Village/Subdistrict Cooperative and Red and White Fishermen Village programs are expected to strengthen the economic capacity of the community through professional business management.

Therefore, the training is not only aimed at providing technical knowledge, but also building leadership and governance skills for prospective managers.

With this explanation, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that information regarding the training participants who were said to receive a salary of Rp. 10 million was not in accordance with the applicable mechanism. The funds received by participants during their education were pocket money of Rp. 1 million per month for a total of Rp. 1.5 million for a 1.5 month training period.