Rugby<\/p>\n
It is with some reluctance that I am taking issue with Mr. RB
\nSawrey-Cookson's letter (Give us rugby football, May 5, 1995),
\nsuggesting that for four whole weeks, and perhaps more, The
\nJakarta Post's sports pages be filled with games like rugby and
\ncricket, none of which are popular among Indonesian readers. The
\nreason for the reluctance is that Mr. Sawrey-Cookson (if I
\nremember correctly) fought in World War II, and I deeply respect
\nveterans of that heroic struggle against Naziism and Japan's
\nmilitarists.<\/p>\n
According to the latest survey, The Jakarta Post's readership
\nconsists of 63.4 percent English-speaking Indonesians and 36.6
\npercent expatriates (9.2 percent Americans, 11.3 percent
\nEuropeans, 10.9 percent Asians, and 5.2 percent from other
\nnationalities). Let us say that half of the expats hail from
\nCommonwealth countries and countries like France, with a rugby
\ntradition. That still leaves only about 18.8 percent of the total
\nreaders (at the most) who are likely to follow those sports
\nmentioned above. What about the rest of us?<\/p>\n
The most popular sports among Indonesian readers are (in
\napproximate descending order) soccer, badminton, tennis,
\nbasketball, volleyball, boxing, table tennis, chess, and archery.
\nThis is just a conjecture, based on reporting in the Indonesian
\npress.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post is an Indonesian newspaper with an
\ninternational outlook. It is meant to be read by all foreign
\nnationals including Britons, Arabs, Chileans, Japanese, Russians,
\nChinese, Filipinos and other foreigners residing here.<\/p>\n
I do understand and sympathize with Mr. Sawrey-Cookson's
\nproblem and the predicament of cricket and rugby lovers like him.
\nBritish newspapers in Indonesia cost up to 12 times the price of
\nThe Jakarta Post and four times that of U.S.-owned papers like
\nInternational Herald Tribune and that sort. Australian newspapers
\nare almost non-existent here. But there is always Singapore's
\nStraits Times, where the British influence runs stronger.<\/p>\n
Let us leave the choice of sports in The Jakarta Post's pages
\nto its Indonesian editors. The sports pages seem to be good the
\nway they are. Sorry to disagree with you, Mr. Sawrey-Cookson, but
\nice hockey is a tremendously exciting sport. I am sure many
\nAmericans, Canadians, Russians, Swedes and others would agree
\nwith this.<\/p>\n
Finally, this next piece of information might be useful to
\nyou: the BBC can be heard in Indonesia on 11955 kHz in the
\nmornings and 11750 khz in the evenings (both on the 25 meter
\nband). At 4:45 p.m. there is a sports roundup. Radio Australia
\ncan be heard loud and clear in this country. From the sports news
\nsources I suggested, you can have all the rugby and cricket you
\nwant!<\/p>\n
FARID BASKORO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rugby-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }