Habibie to attend National Sports Day

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie is scheduled to attend the National Sports Day celebration to be held at the November 10 Stadium in Surabaya on Sept. 9.

His wife Ainun Habibie and a number of cabinet ministers will accompany the President to the event.

During his visit to Surabaya, Habibie will inspect the city's ongoing preparations for the 15th National Games (PON), to be held in 2000. The games will be the first to be staged outside Jakarta since 1973.

The President will also take the occasion to present government scholarships to a number of school children in the province.

The National Sports Day was introduced in 1983 to mark the anniversary of the first national games, which was held in Surakarta, Central Java, in 1948.

East Java deputy governor Imam Soepardi, who chairs the provincial sports council, promised an exuberant celebration.

He said 4,000 students from the city's junior and senior high schools would perform traditional dances such as the Ngeremo (East Java's welcoming dance) and the Raden Atena from Madura, and put on a gymnastics display.

"Rp 472 million has been allocated for the National Sports Day celebration. Of the total budget, Rp 201 million has come out of the annual budget for the province and the rest has been provided by the state," Imam said as quoted by Antara.

He added that prior to the event on Sept. 6 a number of traditional sports competitions would be held for the public will be held. Among the competitions will be gymnastic exercises, egrang (stilt walking), terompah panjang (two or more people walking on the same pair of wooden sandals) and lari balap karung (sack race).

Also on Sept. 6, State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Agung Laksono will open a one-day seminar at Hotel Sahid in Surabaya. Experts, national and local sports officials, and students from sports institutes throughout the country are expected to attend. (lnt)