Brunei ready for 1999 SEA Games<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (AP): After years of swelling ever bigger, the
\nSoutheast Asia Games are likely to be scaled back considerably
\nwhen tiny Brunei plays host in 1999.<\/p>\n
Brunei sports official Adina Othman said the next SEA Games
\nare likely to have between 16 and 20 sports, compared with the
\n34-sport extravaganza put on this year by Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"We expect the games to be much smaller,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Othman refused to comment on which sports will be cut, saying
\nthe decision has not yet been made. She said she hopes the sport
\nlist will be completed this year, however.<\/p>\n
Brunei, a tiny oil-rich country on the northern coast of
\nBorneo, was confirmed as the biennial SEA Games next host earlier
\nthis week.<\/p>\n
The games will be the first Brunei has hosted, though it has
\nsent teams to the SEA Games since 1977, when Kuala Lumpur,
\nMalaysia was the host. The Southeast Asia Games were first held
\nin Bangkok, Thailand in 1959.<\/p>\n
With a population of less than 300,000, it is not surprising
\nBrunei does not plan to hold as big a games as this year's, which
\nfeature 4,300 athletes competing in a record 34 sports.<\/p>\n
Othman said facilities for the games are not expected to be a
\nproblem. Instead, finding places to put everyone may be
\ndifficult.<\/p>\n
\"The accommodations are the difficult thing,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said Brunei has a committee here to study Indonesia's
\nmanagement of the games for possible improvements. Organizers
\nhave been slammed for lax security at several venues and for the
\npoor condition of many of the sports facilities.<\/p>\n
\"We will study their report when it is completed,\" she said of
\nthe committee.<\/p>\n
Brunei has a 326-member team here for the current games, which
\ncloses today, and has won two silvers and four bronze medals. As
\nof yesterday evening, however, it had yet to win a gold.<\/p>\n
There are 10 nations taking part in this year's games.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/brunei-ready-for-1999-sea-games-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }