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)