Hayono praises Surjadi's step on Games stickers
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman has supported Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja's call to stop the use of the 19th SEA Games donation stickers.
Surjadi urged the public not to pay the biennial event donation because the gubernatorial decree has expired.
"Governor Surjadi's call was very proper," Hayono was quoted as saying by Antara.
Hayono also urged the National Sports Council and the consortium, chaired by President Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo, to accept the governor's decision.
Hayono said Surjadi had received complaints from the public about attaching donation stickers to their electricity, telephone and water bills.
"I think it's not because the public does not want to participate in hosting SEA Games but maybe the fund raising mechanism was not right and not transparent," he said.
"They don't want to be fait a compli," he added.
Hayono said the consortium and the council must find another way to raise the funds for the Games because donation stickers are not very effective.
"It seems collecting donations by selling stickers is not appropriate for Jakartans anymore. We have to find another way," he said.
The consortium cooperates with state-owned PT Telkom, PLN, PAM to sell stickers, which cost between Rp 1,000 (U.S. 41 cents) and Rp 50,000 each.
The donations were sought from people applying for drivers' licenses, vehicle registration, building permits, site plans and land documents, and artesian well licenses. Shopping center customers, as well as airport, hotel, restaurant, and recreational and entertainment center customers also had to pay for the stickers.
The consortium had raised Rp 1.3 billion from sticker sales in Jakarta and Rp 2 billion in total throughout Indonesia, far less than the anticipated Rp 35 billion needed to help finance the Rp 105 billion Games.
Hayono expected the consortium to give a full report on the three-month fund-raising.
Television
The council spokesman Ishadi SK, who is also chairman of the information and communication branch of the SEA Games organizing committee, said about 20 national and international TV stations would broadcast the 10-day event.
The national stations are state-owned TVRI and private-owned ANteve, Indosiar, RCTI, SCTV and TPI.
The regional stations include six from Thailand, two from Malaysia, two from Singapore, one from Brunei Darussalam and one from the Philippines.
International stations CNN and ESPN will also broadcast several of the Games' events.
Ishadi said that the television rights to the Games will not be sold to the stations. The organizers only charged for renting the broadcast equipment.
"It's difficult to sell the SEA Games TV rights because it's only a regional event. If we charge for the TV rights, less stations would telecast the Games," he said.
"It's incomparable to the Olympics because the TV rights were one of the biggest earners for the organizers." (yan)