Government's commitment to sports development questioned<\/p>\n
As it is home to 220 million people, Indonesia is in an ideal
\nposition to become a force to be reckoned with in the sporting
\nworld. But poor management in the development program has
\nresulted in some mediocre Indonesian results in regional and
\ninternational competitions. The Jakarta Post's Zakki P. Hakim
\ndiscusses several facets of the issue in this special report
\nbased on interviews with athletic officials, including sports
\ndevelopment consultant Hans Peter Thumm.<\/p>\n
The National Sports Council (KONI) launched this year a three-
\nyear sports campaign called Indonesia Awakens, with the aim of
\nimproving Indonesia's performance at international athletics
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
KONI says it will be looking to win 10 gold medals at the 2006
\nAsian Games in Doha.<\/p>\n
The unveiling of the program came in the wake of another
\ndisappointing performance at the Vietnam SEA Games in December,
\nwhere Indonesia, which used to be the dominant sporting force in
\nthe region, finished third in the medal tally for the third
\nconsecutive time since 1999.<\/p>\n
Although this result had been predicted by observers, the
\nVietnamese outing prompted criticism from President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, who said she felt embarrassed by the meager
\ncollection of medals.<\/p>\n
She said it was unbelievable that Indonesia, with a huge
\npopulation of 220 million people, had finished behind Vietnam and
\nThailand.<\/p>\n
In 1999 and 2001, Thailand and Malaysia swapped the top two
\nplaces in the SEA Games medal tally, leaving Indonesia in third
\non both occasions.<\/p>\n
At the more prestigious Asian Games, Indonesia has seen a
\nsteady drop in its medal tallies.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's discouraging performance both in regional and
\ninternational competitions has been put down to a lack of
\ncommitment on the part of the government in sports development,
\nwhich has resulted in the failure to develop young athletes.<\/p>\n
SEA Games and national record holder in the pole vault, Ni
\nPutu Desi Margawaty, said she was astonished that there was so
\nmuch talent across the country that went unnoticed.<\/p>\n
\"The government should encourage the identification and
\ndevelopment of more young athletes as early as 14 years of age,\"
\nthe 23-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Desi is an alumni of an Education and Training Center for
\nStudents (PPLP), which fall under the supervision of the
\nDirectorate General for Sports Affairs in the national education
\nministry. There are 93 PPLPs across the country.<\/p>\n
She was recruited to the training center when she was 14 and
\nless than three years later she joined the national athletic
\ntraining camp in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Desi said the government ignored the issue, neglecting basic
\nphysical education and sports development.<\/p>\n
\"The government has no concern about sports at all. They
\nexpect us to perform well, but at the same time they neglect
\nbasic physical education and sports development,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The government's lack of support for sports has also been
\nshown in its indifference to using its power to pass into law a
\ndraft sports bill. Its passage into law is expected to improve
\nsports development.<\/p>\n
With its huge population, Indonesia should have the potential
\nto become a sporting force not only regionally, as it was in the
\npast, but also internationally.<\/p>\n
According to official statistics from 2002, there are 25.85
\nmillion primary and 12.52 million secondary school students in
\n148,516 primary and 33,149 secondary schools across the country.<\/p>\n
Those figure can only be matched by combining the other nine
\ncountries in the Southeast Asian region.<\/p>\n
Hans Peter Thumm, an athletics expert from Germany, said that
\nto develop one athlete to become a strong contender for an
\nOlympic medal requires recruiting 700 young athletes in each
\nparticular sporting discipline.<\/p>\n
To develop 100 Olympic contenders would require 70,000 young
\nathletes. For Indonesia, that figure constitutes only 0.18
\npercent of the overall number of students in schools today.<\/p>\n
Toho Cholik Mutohir, the director-general for sports affairs
\nat the Ministry of National Education, has blamed the lack of
\nsports development on the government's reluctance to pour money
\ninto the campaign.<\/p>\n
Since the Office of the State Minister for Youth Affairs and
\nSports was disbanded by president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid in
\n1999, the responsibility for sports development has been
\ntransferred to the Ministry of National Education's Directorate
\nGeneral for Sports Affairs, which ranks lower than a ministry in
\nthe bureaucratic hierarchy.<\/p>\n
According to Toho, his office only received Rp 125 billion
\n(US$14.71 million) in 2003 and 2004. That amount, he said, was
\nfar from adequate to do all the work that was necessary.<\/p>\n
Financial shortfalls have made it difficult to provide schools
\nwith sports facilities and trained sports teachers.<\/p>\n
\"With this situation it is difficult to identify young talents
\nbecause the condition of sports facilities in schools is
\nworrying.<\/p>\n
\"A lack of sports fields, equipment and good sports teachers
\ncontributes to the difficulties,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Toho said he hoped his office would receive at least Rp 150
\nbillion from the government for the upcoming budget period.<\/p>\n
\"Still, it is not enough to develop sports in the country. Ten
\ntimes that amount would be adequate,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In comparison, the Vietnamese government spent some US$32.03
\nmillion from its state budget just for preparations for the 2003
\nSEA Games.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 2004 state budget is Rp 374.35 trillion, 4.1
\npercent of which, or Rp 15.34 trillion, is allocated for
\neducation. And according to a 2004 state budget report published
\nby the Ministry of Finance, of this Rp 15.34 trillion allocated
\nfor education, Rp 206 billion, or 1.34 percent, will cover youth
\nand sports issues.<\/p>\n
To overcome its funding difficulties, the sports office is
\napproaching provincial administrations seeking greater commitment
\nto developing young local athletes.<\/p>\n
The sports office has also turned to a government-to-
\ngovernment cooperation, as in the case with its partnership with
\nGermany.<\/p>\n
The German partnership, which was sealed in 2003, is meant to
\nhelp Indonesia build a systematic talent scouting program, with
\nPapua province the pilot project.<\/p>\n
KONI may be working hard to prepare a contingent for the 2006
\nAsian Games, but more work is needed to prepare an established
\nand systematic system that will produce athletes for future
\nevents.<\/p>\n
The government's commitment in this pursuit is indispensable.
\nOtherwise, Indonesia is in for further sports embarrassments.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/governments-commitment-to-sports-development-questioned-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}