'It's high time to pay more attention to athletes'<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives endorsed a law on sports last week
\nwhich requires the government to provide a pension for national
\nathletes and organizations involved in developing the country's
\nsports. The Jakarta Post interviewed residents here to get their
\nviews on the issue.<\/p>\n
Yulistiawan, 23, is a reporter for the weekly tabloid Opini.
\nHe lives in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As we all know, our athletes can barely survive. However, I'm
\nrelieved that the House has endorsed a bill that pays more
\nattention to their financial needs.<\/p>\n
It's about time that our government appreciated what our
\nathletes have done for our nation.<\/p>\n
Some have even won gold medals and brought fame to the
\ncountry, yet in the past the government seemingly did not pay
\nenough attention to their financial welfare.<\/p>\n
As we know, people often do not view being an athlete as a
\nserious profession, therefore an athlete cannot depend on his or
\nher income to survive.<\/p>\n
Hopefully this law will motivate them to do achieve more in
\ntheir profession. However, we still have to wait until it is
\nfully implemented. Let's just hope that it will not be like other
\nlaws that have not been fully implemented.<\/p>\n
Andy Nugraha, 30, an engineer who used to play professional
\nbasketball in college. He lives in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
It is good that the government is now paying more attention to
\nthe welfare of athletes. In the past, most athletes, even those
\nwho have gone international, ended up having nothing at all when
\nthey retired.<\/p>\n
Those who were still in the profession usually remained there
\nbecause of a mere passion for the field. Honestly, we cannot rely
\non being an athlete, even a professional one, to make a decent
\nliving.<\/p>\n
Less than 1 percent of athletes, and those are the best of the
\nbest, can survive. Nowadays, they earn more from making
\ncommercials than their main job.<\/p>\n
If the government pays more attention to athletes' welfare, I
\nhope we can prove that we can also excel in sports.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/its-high-time-to-pay-more-attention-to-athletes-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }