BPGS pledges Rp 2 billion for Olympics preparation
JAKARTA (JP): The Gelora Senayan Management Board (BPGS) has pledged to provide Rp 2 billion (US$2.8 million) to the National Sports Council (KONI) to stage its long-term training program for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Chairman of the Gelora Senayan Executive Directors (DPGS) Yasidi Hambali said on Thursday KONI had officially requested Rp 5 billion to stage the training.
"I have urged the BPGS chairman, State Secretary Ali Rahman, to disburse the money at the latest by January to enable KONI to stage its Olympic training programs," he said.
KONI has said it will need Rp 6.9 billion for its Olympic preparations. It has submitted its budget proposal to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), however the board is yet to respond.
KONI secretary-general Rudolf Warouw said earlier that he hoped BPGS would disburse the Rp 2 billion fund before the training center opened in February.
"I believe BPGS will give us the funds. If Bappenas and BPGS cannot provide the Rp 6.9 billion budget, KONI will formulate a request to the government," he said.
"If there are no more funds, then we will prioritize the most likely medal winners to compete at the Olympics. If there are sports organizations who have athletes which have qualified for the Olympics, and they want to finance their athletes' preparation, then we won't have any problems in sending them all."
Warouw urged the official in charge of distributing state enterprise profits to KONI, Qoyum Tjandranegara, to promptly hand over Rp 2.5 billion.
Qoyum, who is also director of state owned Perum PGN, had said that he would hand over Rp 2.5 billion. But he changed his mind early this week, saying he might only provide Rp 1.5 billion.
"I hope all of the Rp 2.5 billion will be handed over soon. I don't know why he made that statement. We don't know the financial condition of the state enterprises," he said.
KONI is forced to use its annual Rp 800 million budget to finance the preparations before disbursement of the money.
"Some of the budget was used to finance our athletes to compete in the prequalifying rounds of the Olympics, including windsurfer Oka Sulaksana in Noumea, New Caledonia, recently," said KONI official in charge of planning and budget Togi Hutagaol.
KONI has planned to provide each athlete with a Rp 350,000 monthly allowance during the training period. So far, only 12 athletes have qualified for the Olympics.
Yasidi said BPGS had saved Rp 150 billion for sports facility renovations rather than sports development.
"We can use the money to finance our participation in the Olympics, the 2001 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur and the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea. Those three activities take Rp 124 billion. We can use the money, but we won't have anything left," he said.
The money will be used to renovate the Senayan soccer stadium and swimming pool, complete the billiard and snooker center in the Senayan sports complex and build another indoor stadium in the East parking lot.
Speaking about the plan to build a Senayan Tower on the ex- KONI office on Jl. Sudirman, Yasidi said a South Korean company had expressed interest in continuing the construction, which was stopped due to the monetary crisis.
"I can't comment on it. It's still too early," he said. (yan)