Coordinating on sports programs to be improved
Coordinating on sports programs to be improved
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs held a one-day workshop yesterday, with the objective of improving coordination with other government agencies involved in the implementation of national sports programs.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs outlines programs, and coordinates with 17 government agencies, including the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, in carrying out the programs.
Despite their established functions, discrepancies, which clearly show a lack of coordination among them, still occur occasionally, Imam Suyudi, an assistant to the sports and youth affairs minister, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
In the sexual harassment case involving a Chinese coach hired by a top badminton club, for instance, virtually none of the government agencies were informed in the first instance, Suyudi said.
Even the Badminton Association of Indonesia was informed only after news about the allegation appeared in the media. The incidents happened over a period of two years but were only disclosed last March and Fang Kai Shiang, whom the Bimantara Tangkas badminton club hired in 1991, returned to China last February.
The workshop, which was led by two Australian experts on sports management, Mark McElligott and Alan D. Roberts, included group discussions on strategies to make communications more effective, how to increase social and economic importance on sports and how to make government-run sports organizations more professionals.
Following the workshop, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Hayono Isman, will hold a meeting today with director generals of the 17 other ministries and government agencies, asking for their support on improving communications and mutual understanding in implementing the national sports programs.
As for Indonesia's absence in the biennial Arafura Sports Festival in Darwin, which started last Saturday, Suyudi said that Indonesia could not take part in the festival due to its preparations for the 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.(arf)