Athletes perform poorly in registration and voting

JAKARTA (JP): National athletes may triumph on the domestic and international stages, but in the June 7 general election they came out losers.

A number of national athletes failed to register to vote because they were concentrating on their training for the 20th Southeast Asian Games in Brunei this August.

Some of the athletes told The Jakarta Post and Kompas they were not even aware of the April 5 to May 15 voter registration period.

"I didn't even know when the registration started and ended. Some of my teammates from outside of Jakarta also failed to vote because they had not registered in their hometowns," Umar Syarief, a Surabaya-born karateka who competes in the men's 80 kilograms division, said.

Umar said he would have voted for Golkar if he had registered for the elections. "Golkar contributed to the success of national sports development during its heyday."

He also hoped that whichever party won the elections, they would focus more attention on developing sports in the country.

Beach volleyball player I Made Sumaryatna from West Nusa Tenggara, who is being groomed for the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, blamed his failure to vote in the elections on the National Sports Council (KONI).

"I did not register because in previous elections KONI organized our registration and built polling stations for us," he said.

Basketball player I Gde Agus Wahyudi said he was so focused on his training he forgot to register for the polls.

However, Agus went to the polling station at Moestopo University and showed officials his identity card, hoping this would earn him the right to vote. Poll officials, however, refused to bend the regulations for the athlete and would not allow him to vote.

"I was really disappointed because I heard Rudini's (chairman of the General Elections Commission) speech this morning saying that those who haven't registered could vote by showing their identity cards. I tried to do this, but they would not allow me," he said.

In the Monday morning speech, Rudini actually said that by showing their voter registration cards, voters could cast their ballots at any polling station, not just the one they had registered at.

A supporter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Agus said: "Imagine, my vote would be very valuable if PDI Perjuangan needed only one more vote to beat other parties."

Top soccer player Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto said he skipped the elections because he did not have a chance to register in his hometown of Magelang, Central Java. Kurniawan has been nominated for a seat in the provincial legislative council by the Republican Party.

"I didn't register because I couldn't go home. I visited Magelang on May 27 when I took part in the campaign," he said.

However, not all athletes regretted not voting in the elections.

Women's long jumper Nyoman Rai Trisandiana said she, sprinter Irine Truitje Joseph and pole vaulter Dessy Margawati agreed not to take part in the elections.

"There are too many parties now. We are confused. I used to vote number two (Golkar Party) but now I don't want to," she said. (ivy)