Games medal winners cash in on victories
JAKARTA (JP): Cash bonuses for National Games winners made the headlines in the country's sports pages over the weekend after 12 days of hectic competition finished Friday.
The size of the awards, a preferable substitute for traditional floral garlands, varied from province to province, but there is no denying that the vast majority of medal winners across the archipelago are richer than they were before the Games.
Central Java is the only province not rewarding its sporting heroes. Governor Suwardi told his athletes arriving in Semarang Sunday that his administration would not provide anything for the medalists.
"As long as I am at the helm of this province, there will be no cash bonuses for Central Java's athletes. For those who don't agree with my policy I'll let you race to other provinces for cash," Suwardi was quoted by Antara as saying,
Leftovers from the province's Games budget are to be used to build sports facilities, said the governor.
Suwardi promised that rewards will be given in other forms, such as jobs in provincial offices and direct admittance to state-run universities.
In Kendari, Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin handed out Rp 5 million (US$2,146) to each of Southeast Sulawesi's 11 gold medalists, Rp 3 million to the four silver medalists and Rp 2 million to the nine athletes who won bronzes during a ceremony yesterday attended by Minister of Public Works Radinal Moochtar, who was there on an official visit.
The province finished 14th in the medal standings, three places lower than three years ago. Nine of the golds in this year's Games came from water sports.
"Don't look at the amount, which may be less than that received by athletes from other provinces. We have to thank this province's 1.4 million people who contributed to the bonuses," Kaimoeddin said.
Jakarta's medal winners are enjoying the biggest bonuses, with each gold medalist receiving three times the amount given to their Southeast Sulawesi counterparts. A Jakartan silver medalist is Rp 7.5 million richer, while the bronze medalists bagged Rp 4 million.
Each member of a gold, silver and bronze medal-winning team received Rp 7.5 million, Rp 5 million and Rp 2.5 million respectively. And athletes who left the Games empty-handed were awarded consolation bonuses of Rp 1 million.
Record-breaking performances were also worth whopping bonuses, with a Southeast Asian Games mark priced at Rp 5 million, a national record worth Rp 3 million and a meet record going for Rp 2.5 million.
"The amount of the bonuses is small compared to your efforts and I don't think that you fought for glory because of the bonuses," Governor Surjadi Soedirdja told his athletes during a get-together celebration on Sunday.
Jakarta was crowned the overall champion for a record eighth successive time, scooping 141 golds, 83 silvers and 79 bronzes.
West Javanese medal winners lived up to their status as runners-up to Jakarta, emerging the second richest with Rp 12.5 million given to a gold medalists, Rp 6.2 million to silver medalists and Rp 3.1 million to bronze medalists.
Central Kalimantan awarded Rp 6 million to its gold-medal winners, Rp 3 million to the silver medalists and Rp 1.5 million to the bronze medalists. (amd)