Asiad fund may come from State Budget before April

Asiad fund may come from State Budget before April

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
Hayono Isman said yesterday that he would try to get the Asian
Games funding from the 1998/1999 State Budget before the fiscal
year begins in April.

Speaking after a hearing with House Commission VII for youth
affairs and sports, Hayono said that the National Sports Council
needed the money to groom national athletes for next December's
quadrennial event in Bangkok.

"Although the council has yet to decide in which sports
Indonesia will compete, we have estimated that we need about Rp
11.285 billion (US$3.2 million) to finance our athletes. But the
figure could change depending on how many athletes we send," he
said.

The council has shortlisted 16 potential sport for the Asiad,
which is to feature 36 sports. The 16 are archery, badminton,
beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo,
karate, rowing, surfing, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, track and
field and weight lifting.

But the council's task force has added soccer, wrestling and
shooting to the list.

The house commission also agreed that the government should
finance the Asian Games preparation and contingent and include it
in the State Budget.

Hayono said: "Once the council submits its budget plan, I may
have to drop some 'rich' sports organizations, including swimming
and track and field, from the list."

Hayono considered The Indonesian Swimming Association and the
Indonesian Athletics Association as sports organizations which
were supported by big companies.

The Tirtamas Group backs the swimmers and companies owned by
timber tycoon Bob Hasan are heavily involved in track and field.

SEA Games

Hayono also urged the 19th SEA Games consortium to submit its
audited report soon.

"I know that the consortium has a general report but I want to
have an audited report. The consortium is still finishing it with
assistance from the public accountant," he said.

The consortium has promised to hand over the report by the end
of this year.

The consortium's treasurer, Arief Widodo Tjandrawinata, said
that the consortium and the accountant have been making the
report since the end of October.

"We're going to report the results to the council's chairman
and the minister, then publish them in the media," he said
yesterday.

The deputy chairman of the commission, Oelfah Harmanto from
the Golkar faction, said that the consortium was expected to
submit its report before its next hearing early next year.

Arief, known as Okky, said the consortium still had to pay for
about Rp 15 billion of the organizers' expenditure, including
the referee's allowances and athletes accommodation.

"But the consortium has only collected Rp 5 billion and still
has to cover the remaining Rp 10 billion," he said.

Hayono said the consortium was still raising funds from
sticker sales, which will end on Dec. 31.

"If by Dec. 31, the consortium has not collected the Rp 15
billion, it's their own problem," he said.

Soccer

Speaking about soccer, Hayono still expected the Indonesian
Soccer Association to be realistic about its likely success in
the Asiad.

"If the association still says that our national team will
reach the semifinals, I think it's deceiving the public," he
said.

Hayono said Indonesia has to consider Thailand, former Soviet
Union countries, Middle East and Far East countries as tough
rivals in soccer.

"If our team fails in the Asiad, I believe the public will be
very disappointed. We must try not to let the public express its
disappointment during soccer matches in stadiums because they can
be very brutal," he said.

"The association must be honest about its chances. If it says
our team can reach the quarterfinals, I think it's more
realistic," he added.

Hayono said that because soccer was one of the nation's
favorite sports, the council would probably send a team in the
Asiad.

"If our team doesn't compete in at the Asiad, the Asian
Football Confederation will punish it because it will be the
third time we have been absent from the event," he said. (yan)