Grumbling continues in opening countdown

Sun, 12 Oct 1997, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

JAKARTA (JP): Complaints about unfinished facilities continued
to hound SEA Games' organizers yesterday as the clock ticked down
to the opening ceremony.

Women's hockey matches, scheduled for Saturday, were postponed
a day to allow construction of a temporary stand for VIPs and
teams.

Repairs are also needed to the fence surrounding the newly
built synthetic pitch in the Senayan sports complex.

As if to add insult to injury, organizers announced they would
provide manually operated scoreboards, not digital ones.

"I regret the arena is not ready yet and that facilities are
being built in an emergency," said Primadi Tabrani, a national
hockey association official.

"We have been unable to take advantage of our hosting the
Games, because we have not had time to adapt to the pitch."

Eleventh-hour preparations were also underway at the weight
lifting venue in the Senayan tennis stadium

Workers were still setting the floor and the backdrop for the
competition, scheduled to begin this morning.

An Indonesian weight lifting referee attributed the catch-up
efforts to procrastination by the Indonesian Weight Lifting,
Power Lifting and Body Building Association.

"This is a chronic problem which occurs every time they
prepare for a big event," said the referee, who requested
anonymity.

He believed, however, that the venue would be ready on time.

The weight lifting association had earlier faulted the Games'
organizing committee for not delegating responsibility for
setting up the venue.

"But we don't want to look for a scapegoat," an official said.
"On Friday, we decided to take over the tasks."

The association hired 10 workers to help out eight workers
from the organizing committee.

A temporary warm-up room has been set up under a tent in an
adjacent parking lot.

Organizers could take some cheer from Thai national weight
lifting coach Propian Tunvera, who declared himself satisfied
with the venue during an inspection yesterday.

Hotel

Malaysian track and field coach J. Vijayan was fuming
yesterday morning over a snafu in reservations at the Hotel Mulia
Senayan, the athletes village.

Accompanied by 60 athletes and officials, he arrived at the
hotel to find their rooms were not ready.

"We faxed our members' names two days ago, and now they say
that the administrative clearance is still being processed," he
told The Jakarta Post.

He claimed a front desk officer had promised to try to find
them rooms, but had not returned after several hours.

It was important that athletes were not upset during their
preparation for their events, he added.

Malaysian judo official Cheah Pik Yee said the athletes needed
to rest.

Journey

"It has been a tiring journey as they had to wake up before 4
a.m. We need to take a bath or sauna, and then go straight to the
training sites to practice."

Hotel guest relations officer H. Bambang said the hotel was
overbooked as 70 rooms -- each designated to accommodate three
people -- were undergoing repairs.

Only 60 percent of the 1,008 rooms were available, he said,
and some rooms scheduled for occupancy needed further
renovations.

Although stranded in the Mulia lobby for several hours, the
Malaysian contingent was reported to have found rooms at the
nearby Hotel Atlet and several other hotels by late yesterday
afternoon.

At least 12 hotels in Greater Jakarta and West Java are being
used to accommodate the 5,898 athletes and officials from the 10
participating countries. (04/10)