Challenges keep me alive: M.F. Siregar<\/p>\n
By Ivy Susanti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): "I like sports. I like people. I like to do the
\nutmost because I have been given the talent by God," Mangombar
\nFerdinand Siregar says of his life principle.<\/p>\n
Young people may associate Siregar, who will turn 73 on Nov.
\n11, with badminton for his post as the official in charge of
\nathlete development at the Badminton Association of Indonesia
\n(PBSI). But his contribution to sports development goes much
\nfurther.<\/p>\n
His white hair is thinning and his back is slightly hunched,
\nyet his voice is still loud and clear when he discusses his
\npassion for life. He spends 20 minutes every day working out,
\nanother 20 minutes walking around a tennis court near his home
\nand 45 minutes on a stationary bicycle.<\/p>\n
He is an opa (grandfather) not only to his eight grandchildren
\nbut also to all the young shuttlers and journalists he works
\nwith.<\/p>\n
"I always go to the Indonesian Badminton Center (in Cipayung,
\nEast Jakarta) to talk to the shuttlers and coaches but not the
\nPBSI officials. I feel like I live there and I'm very happy to be
\nthere," he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview at his
\nresidence in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"I like to talk with (the shuttlers), motivate them, so I know
\nwhat there complaints are. I don't preach to them with lots of
\ntheories. I regard them all as my friends."<\/p>\n
The Jakarta-born Siregar has witnessed the rise and fall of
\nthe country's sport development, and is still willing to lend a
\nhand.<\/p>\n
His love affair with sports began when he was studying at a
\nHollands Inlandsche School (Dutch elementary school for
\nindigenous Indonesians during the Dutch colonial era) in 1941.<\/p>\n
"I took care of everything having to do with sports in school
\nuntil I entered the junior high school in Jakarta," he recalled.
\nHe graduated from a state-owned junior high school here in 1946
\nand went to high school in Bandung, West Java, graduating in
\n1950.<\/p>\n
He continued his studies at the Akademi Pendidikan Jasmani
\n(Physical Education Academy) in Bandung, and graduated in 1954.
\nThe following year he married Darliah Nasution, who was three
\nyears his junior. Darliah passed away in Adelaide, Australia, on
\nSept. 30, 2000. The couple had four daughters and a son.<\/p>\n
Siregar received his master's in physical education from
\nSpringfield College in Massachusetts, the United States, in 1964.<\/p>\n
Coach<\/p>\n
He began work at the Physical Educators School in Bandung in
\n1954 and was registered as a civil servant at the then Ministry
\nof Education and Culture, now the Ministry of National Education.<\/p>\n
His coaching career began in the pool. He spent 35 years
\nbeginning in 1952 as a swimming and water polo coach.<\/p>\n
"I coached the swim team because I like swimming. Later, I
\nplayed tennis and was appointed as an official with the
\nIndonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) .... I was the youngest
\nIndonesian to be in any sports organization and the oldest coach
\nin the country."<\/p>\n
Siregar was the secretary and the official in charge of
\nresearch and development at the Jakarta chapter of Pelti from
\n1994 to 1998 and is still an adviser to the association. He has
\nalso been an adviser to the Indonesian Rowing Association since
\n1997.<\/p>\n
At PBSI, he began in the athlete development division in 1989
\nand his first job was to head the training program for the 1992
\nOlympic Games in Barcelona. From 1993 to 1997, he was a member of
\nthe association's board of advisers, before returning to his
\ncurrent post.<\/p>\n
But it was during his years as a coach that Siregar left his
\nmark on sports in Indonesia, though few people are aware of his
\nachievements. But he certainly remembers, and can point exactly
\nto his two favorite memories.<\/p>\n
"The first is the ninth Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 1977 in
\nKuala Lumpur, when we took 19 golds from 14 men's events and 13
\nwomen's events in our first time participating in the regional
\nevent. I was the coach and the chief of the technical committee
\nfor the Indonesian Swimming Association (PRSI).<\/p>\n
"The second is when Susi Susanti won the country's first
\n(Olympic) gold medal in Barcelona."<\/p>\n
Siregar can recall every step along Susi's path to the gold,
\nstarting with the training period with the other shuttlers,
\nincluding her husband Alan Budikusumah, who won gold in the men's
\nsingles, men's singles silver medalist Ardy Bernardus Wiranata,
\nmen's doubles silver medalists Eddy Hartono and Gunawan, and
\nmen's singles bronze medalist Hermawan Susanto.<\/p>\n
"I had to have medical treatment for two coronary arteries at
\nthe San Francisco Heart Institute prior to the Olympics. I only
\ncompleted one. I told the doctor, 'I want to go to Barcelona.'
\nThe doctor would not allow me at first. Then I told him, 'Who do
\nyou think has control over my life? If it's my time to die, then
\nI will die.' So the doctor gave me his permission to go, with
\nsome conditions: I had to be accompanied by a medic and I was not
\nallowed to watch any of the events.<\/p>\n
"I went to Barcelona with my family doctor, Dr. Soetrisno, my
\npersonal driver, who was my fourth child Ria Marina, and my late
\nwife. I promised the doctor to stay away from the competition but
\nhe allowed me to visit the athletes village the night before the
\nmatches began."<\/p>\n
Siregar says that in his meeting with the team, he told them
\nnot to rely on Susi to get the gold medal, that everybody had the
\nsame opportunity to make history. He went home on July 26 when
\nthe badminton event started. He said he was not allowed to watch
\nthe TV or read the paper, but he was eager to get the badminton
\nresults.<\/p>\n
The chance came when he was walking at Madya Stadium in
\nSenayan, Central Jakarta. He asked former shuttler and now mixed
\ndoubles coach Richard Mainaky to help him get news of the latest
\ndevelopments.<\/p>\n
"I asked Richard to go back and forth between the PBSI
\nSecretariat on Jl. Asia Afrika. If Richard raised one thumb it
\nwould mean the shuttlers had gone to the semifinals, two thumbs
\nmeant the final and if he waived both his hands that meant we won
\ngold. That is how I knew what we achieved on Aug. 4."<\/p>\n
There may be no tear in his eyes, but he has nine photos of
\nSusi's tearful expression on the podium when she received the
\nmedal.<\/p>\n
"Kompas daily (on Aug. 5) quoted Susi as saying, 'I dedicate
\nthis title to Pak Siregar.' No other paper ever wrote that."<\/p>\n
'Panji Olahraga'<\/p>\n
Siregar has spent half his life at the Ministry of Sports and
\nthe Office of the State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports,
\nserving as the ministry's assistant for sports affairs in 1966
\nand from 1983 to 1988.<\/p>\n
He is also the formulator of the Panji Olahraga (Sports Flag),
\nwhich was introduced by former president Soeharto during the
\nfourth national congress of the National Sports Council (KONI) on
\nJan. 19, 1981. It has for years served as a guide for sports
\ndevelopment and education.<\/p>\n
"We have Panji Olahraga as the foundation of Indonesia's
\nsports development. Panji Olahraga is about how to involve the
\ncommunity in sports development and how to popularize sports in
\nthe community.<\/p>\n
"The then minister of education and culture, Daoed Joesoef,
\nreminded us to make the community aware of the meaning of sports.<\/p>\n
"The leader of the country, sports officials have been given
\nthis guidance. But there is something wrong with our sports
\nsystem in 2001. Why? Because the guidance is not well
\nimplemented, it fails to generate a system based on standard
\nprocedures."<\/p>\n
The most important part of the system lies in schools and
\nclubs where athletes are born and mature, he said.<\/p>\n
"Students are in their productive years and they can be assets
\nfor sports. Millions of people learn about sports during their
\nelementary school years."<\/p>\n
He said there should be a new vision shared by both the
\ngovernment and those involved in developing sports.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, former national education minister Yahya
\nMuhaimin named Siregar chairman of the National Committee of
\nPhysical Education and Sports.<\/p>\n
Siregar said the first step toward a more sports-oriented
\ncommunity was to introduce sports to children as early as
\nkindergarten and elementary school.<\/p>\n
"I don't care how much time is allocated for sports in
\nschools. I just want it to begin now."<\/p>\n
It is difficult to stop Siregar once he starts talking about
\nsports development. "I don't get bored talking about this topic.
\nI don't get upset if people refuse to learn or to take action. I
\ndon't regard my efforts as a job, and I have no deadline. And I
\ndon't belittle other people if they reject my ideas."<\/p>\n
He said he preferred to talk in informal situations. Then he
\nshowed a photo of himself, as KONI's secretary-general, sitting
\nbeside Soeharto in a packed Madya Stadium after the opening of a
\ntrack and field event in June 1980. He says it was at that moment
\nthat he introduced the Panji Olahraga idea to the president.<\/p>\n
"Whenever I have time to meet people, I talk about my ideas. I
\ndon't want other people to feel like I'm lecturing. I think I am
\nwhispering more to the leaders than talking."<\/p>\n
He quipped that it was difficult to find people like him, who
\nwere willing to share their thoughts and work without requiring
\npayment.<\/p>\n
"Why do I want to do this? Because I think it's the best thing
\nI can do with my life. I just can't sit down and do nothing. I
\nlike a challenge. I would die quickly if there were no
\nchallenges."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/challenges-keep-me-alive-mf-siregar-1447893297",
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