Brunei ready to hold 20th SEA Games

Brunei ready to hold 20th SEA Games

By P. Parameswaran

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): Oil-rich Brunei is preparing to
roll out the red carpet for participants at next month's
Southeast Asian Games, which the tiny state hopes will help fuel
its economic recovery.

The 4,000 athletes and officials of the 20th SEA Games will be
housed in newly-completed luxury apartments in a leafy enclave in
the heart of Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

The Games village of previous host countries will be no match
for the grand 12-hectare (30-acre) accommodation site here
comprising 13 gleaming residential towers ranging from five to 15
stories.

Sources said the construction cost of just one apartment unit
of three to five bedrooms worked out to several hundred thousands
of dollars.

But even if they are housed in style, athletes may not be able
to uncork champagne to toast their victories as public
consumption of liquor is banned in predominantly-Muslim Brunei.

Shops are also prohibited from selling alcoholic drinks in the
sultanate.

This is the first time Brunei in northwest Borneo island is
hosting the SEA Games, the region's most prestigious sporting
event. It will be held from Aug. 7 to 15 during which schools
will be closed so that students can join in the extravaganza.

A government source said Brunei's powerful ruler Sultan
Hassanal Bolkiah, among the richest men in the world, had sent
"strong signals" to officials to make every effort to ensure the
event's success.

The source said the Games will be a good test for Brunei,
which is hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit in 2000 to be attended by leaders of 21 economies,
including the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The Games should also give a boost to tourism, a key component
of growth for Brunei which is reeling from an economic slowdown
caused by the Asian financial crisis which erupted in mid-1997.

Deputy Finance Minister Selamat Munap told AFP that tourism
was among key sectors which Brunei was banking on to keep
economic growth in positive territory this year. He forecast
growth at just over zero percent in 1999.

"We expect to have many visitors coming for the 20th SEA Games
-- in addition to the athletes and officials," he said, adding
that a number of new hotels were constructed in anticipation of
the increased tourist arrivals.

An organizing committee spokesman said that for a little over
a week Brunei's population of 300,000 will be swelled by the
10,000 visitors expected to converge here for the Games.

Two of several new hotels were opened to business only in
recent weeks and their staff have been put through crash-course
training, officials said. buses and cars have been imported
specially for the event.

Neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
and Indonesia are also lending a hand to Brunei in organizing the
games.

Most of the 21 events at the games, with 789 medals up for
grabs, will be held at the sprawling Hassanal Bolkiah Sports
Complex, where workers are racing to put the finishing touches to
a costly facelift.

Apart from Brunei, the other participating countries are
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.