Business, govt must work to improve athletes' welfare<\/p>\n
Legislators have approved a long-waited sports bill, which, among
\nother things, requires the government to provide pensions to
\nathletes who compete for their country. The Jakarta Post asked
\nsome Jakarta people for their views on the issue.<\/p>\n
Hamidah, 35, is a public school teacher in Pasar Minggu, South
\nJakarta. She lives with her husband and children in Cilandak,
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
My husband is a former player with the national soccer team,
\nbut he just ended up working as a small trader in Pasar
\nMinggu market. Almost nothing is left from what he earned during
\nhis 10-year involvement in soccer.<\/p>\n
Now, I don't want my children to pursue sporting careers as I
\ndon't want them to end up like their father. I believe that many
\nparents would agree with me.<\/p>\n
This partly explains why our sporting prowess continues to
\ndecline. We are producing fewer and fewer champions because many
\ntalented children and young people have to opt for other careers
\noutside sport.<\/p>\n
Suryanto Hadikusumo, 42, is the owner of a construction
\nconsultancy firm. He lives with his family in Kemang, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The business community and government should work hand in hand
\nto improve the welfare of athletes. The government only has
\nlimited money to provide adequate benefits to athletes, while the
\nbusiness community needs to be encouraged by the government to
\ninvest in sport.<\/p>\n
In this way, I think that sport could become a huge industry
\nin Indonesia, just like in other countries. The sports industry
\nwould then automatically provide greater rewards to talented
\nathletes as more companies would be involved in the sector.<\/p>\n
In turn, more talented people would choose to pursue careers
\nin sport, and thus we would produce more champions.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/business-govt-must-work-to-improve-athletes-welfare-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }