Indonesia withdraws bid to host 2002 Asiad<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Concern for the success of programs to minimize
\npoverty is the main reason behind Indonesia's decision to
\nwithdraw its bid to host the 2002 Asian Games.<\/p>\n
Another reason is that Indonesia will hold its eighth general
\nelection in the same year.<\/p>\n
"Those are the two main considerations why we finally decided
\nto withdraw our bid," Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono
\nIsman told reporters after a meeting with President Soeharto at
\nMerdeka Palace yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hayono made it clear that Indonesia withdrew its bid because
\n"we don't want to create a new problem".<\/p>\n
With Jakarta's withdrawal, there are only two bidders now,
\nSouth Korea's city of Pusan and Chinese Taipei's Khaoshiung.<\/p>\n
However, if Indonesia opts to support the Khaoshiung bid, this
\nmay injure China's feelings. During Hayono's visit to China in
\nNovember last year, China's sports minister Wu Shaozu reminded
\nIndonesia of its one China policy and openly asked Indonesia not
\nto support Khaoshiung's bid.<\/p>\n
Wu earlier assured Hayono that China would back Indonesia's
\nbid to host the 14th Asian Games.<\/p>\n
Hayono said President Soeharto had asked him not to make any
\ndecision which could upset the harmony among the Asia-Pacific
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has twice failed in its bids to host the Asian Games.
\nIn 1990, Jakarta's bid to host the 13th Asian Games in 1998 fell
\nflat when it obtained fewer votes than Bangkok, which eventually
\nwon the bid.<\/p>\n
Many sports circles in Indonesia have expressed their optimism
\nthat hosting the Asian Games would be an effective way for
\njacking up Indonesian's ranking in Asia because holding such a
\nlarge-scale sports event would strongly motivate Indonesian
\nathletes to do their best. At the latest Asian Games in Hiroshima
\nlast year, Indonesia finished 11th with three gold medals, 12
\nsilver medals and 11 bronze medals.<\/p>\n
The Olympics Council of Asia will hold a meeting in Seoul,
\nSouth Korea, on May 23, to decide the winner of the bidding for
\nthe 2002 Asian Games.<\/p>\n
During his meeting with Soeharto, Hayono also discussed the
\nidea of introducing Tapornas, a 12-month savings scheme which
\noffers a monthly prize of up to Rp 1.5 billion to compensate for
\nits interest rate which is about 60 percent lower than the market
\nrate.<\/p>\n
Tapornas is scheduled to be applied next year and will
\ncapitalize on the nationwide networks of the state-owned Bank
\nRakyat Indonesia and the state postal agency, PT Pos Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It has been devised to serve as a substitute for the widely
\ndisliked state lottery, SDSB, the major sources of funds for the
\nNational Sports Council. (arf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-withdraws-bid-to-host-2002-asiad-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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