Govt to get help from private sector for SEA Games
Govt to get help from private sector for SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday agreed to a plan to give the private sector the lion's share of the 19th Southeast Asian Games here next year.
State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman said after a meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that the private sector will take charge of all sponsorship-related activities, including promotion and advertisement.
"The government will help the private sector carry out their jobs," Hayono said. This help will include permit clearance and a reduction of import taxes on sports equipment.
Hayono said he would discuss such matters with the Minister of Finance.
Hayono said that first of all the private sector must earmark Rp 35 billion (US$15.3 million) for the National Sports Council. "This money is vital and will be used to finance Indonesian athletes' preparations for the biennial event," Hayono said.
The minister said that the upcoming SEA Games will cost Indonesia a whopping Rp 70 billion ($31 million). A ministerial meeting presided over by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas on Monday suggested that Hayono re-calculate the budget.
Thailand spent Bt 2 billion ($83.3 million) when it hosted the 18th SEA Games in Chiang Mai last December, with most of the budget allotted for the construction of new sports venues.
"The government will avoid naming a speculative company or group of companies," he said. "We need idealism, because this project is non-profit."
He added that he had contacted several businessmen, but refused to identify them.
The government expects to hear proposals by April.
Wismoyo
Yesterday Soeharto approved the appointment of National Sports Council Chief Wismoyo Arismunandar as chairman of the 19th SEA Games Organizing Committee.
Wismoyo will be the second chairman of the council to take the top post after the late Hamengku Buwono IX in 1979.
"I'm ready for the job," Wismoyo said.
Indonesia will host the Games for the third time since it joined the biennial event in 1977.
The Games are hosted in alphabetical order. Indonesia was named host last year after both Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam declined the offer to host the event.
Indonesia on Monday proposed 25 sports to be contested next year, but the decision will be taken at a SEA Games Council Member meeting here in August.
The Indonesian government has yet to decide the date for the Games, but Hayono suggested that they be held during school holidays in October to draw large numbers of spectators.
Thailand declared the two weeks of competition in the last SEA Games a holiday for school students. (amd)