Golkar for review of Tapornas

Golkar for review of Tapornas

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar chairman Harmoko said that the government's plan to fund-raise for national sports development with a savings scheme next year should be studied and discussed in the House of Representatives and with mass organizations.

"We're still in May, so we've got a few more months to study this together with the people's representatives in the House and other mass organizations," the leader of the ruling political group was quoted by Antara as saying Saturday.

The new scheme, known by the Indonesian abbreviation Tapornas, was roundly criticized after it was announced last week by State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Hayono Isman.

The government, desperate to find ways of raising funds for sports, had hoped that the scheme could be launched this coming January.

All but one of the four factions in the House of Representatives have rejected the idea, saying that it smacks of gambling and is no different from the SDSB lottery that was abolished in 1993 because of its gambling elements. The sole exception was the Armed Forces faction which said that it was willing to study the plan.

Moslem leaders have also given their thumbs down to the savings scheme because they can't see any guarantee that it will not be used for gambling.

"The government should contact the factions (in the House), and also mass organizations to study Tapornas and ensure that it does not cause unwanted effects," Harmoko, who is also the minister of information, said in Surabaya on Saturday.

He stressed that the scheme is not final and deserves a thorough study because Indonesian sports are also at stake.

He denied that Tapornas is a resurrection of SDSB as many House members, including Golkar members, claim. "We've buried SDSB. Tapornas is an idea to help promote the nation's sports. Let's not link it in any way with SDSB."

Tapornas will be run like a savings scheme with interest rates of between three and five percent, well below the interest rates offered by banks.

Prizes

Periodically, raffle prizes totaling Rp 18 billion ($8.2 million) will be drawn.

Since the abolition of SDSB in 1993, each sport has had to look for sponsors. While this is not a problem for popular sports such as badminton, tennis, auto-racing and boxing, the less popular sports have had difficulty finding sponsors.

Lack of funds has also forced the government to shelve its plan to bid for the 2002 Asian Games and to build a new sports complex just outside Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Hasan Basri, the chairman of the influential Indonesian Ulema Council, said that there must be many other ways to raise funds.

He objected to the scheme, because, like the old SDSB, it is geared toward raising money from the public, particularly the poor. He suggested that sports authorities turn to powerful businessmen for money, the Republika daily quoted him a saying yesterday.

"There are so many of them. And they're getting lucrative government projects. Ask them to contribute," he said. (emb)