Hayono urges recalculation of SEA Games budget
Hayono urges recalculation of SEA Games budget
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports
Hayono Isman yesterday urged the 19th SEA Games Organizing
Committee to recalculate the budget for the biennial event here
next year.
Hayono said that he would only take a whopping SEA Games
budget seriously if it is proved unavoidable and meets the real
needs.
"The problem is not how much we have to spend but the
effective use of the money," Hayono said.
Hayono was commenting on the committee's announcement two
weeks ago that the SEA Games budget had reached Rp 143 billion
(US$60.85 million) after only five of the committee's 10
divisions submitted their planning budgets.
The committee had said earlier that it would set the budget at
Rp 70 billion, with organizational and national team preparation
expenses having equal portions. A consortium comprising top
businessmen is underwriting the budget.
The committee argued that the overcalculation occurred
apparently because of overlapping in some divisions.
Hayono said that the committee must learn from the last
National Games in September. Those Games, featuring athletes from
the country's 27 provinces competing in 35 sports, cost the
organizers less than Rp 30 billion.
"Only 10 teams will take part in SEA Games and there will be
only 34 sports. Does it make sense if the Games' budget swells to
more than Rp 100 billion?" Hayono said.
The minister, in his capacity as the executive chairman of the
committee's board of patrons, said that he would like the
committee's chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar, to submit the
reviewed budget to him soon.
Hayono also said that the government did not coerce the
businessmen into raising the SEA Games funds. "We invited them,
not squeezed their feet. This is a mutual relationship," he said.
It will be the first SEA Games to be fully financed by the
private sector.
Training program
Separately, Kahpi Suriadiredja, former secretary-general of
the National Sports Council, said Wednesday that the late start
of the SEA Games training program could cost Indonesia overall
success.
"I regret this late start. As the host, the Indonesian team
has to win the overall title before its supporters," Kahpi said.
As of today, only 11 sports organizations have begun their
national training programs although the council set Nov. 1 as the
starting date for all training programs.
Kahpi warned the council that Thailand, which humbled
Indonesia at home in the last Games in Chiang Mai, has groomed
its athletes for the last three years because of its ambition to
perform better in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.
"We will have to wait longer to regain our title if sports
organizations and the council do not prepare our athletes
properly," Kahpi said.
Kahpi urged the council to keep its eyes open to the progress
made by other countries. "When I was the secretary-general, I
asked Indonesian embassies to keep an eye on the progress made by
our rivals," he said.
He said that sports organizations need to keep their athletes'
records a secret.
"Thailand is very secretive about its athletes' records. While
here, sports organizations let the cat out of the bag very
easily," he said.
Kahpi said that the council must be selective in hiring
foreign coaches for certain sports. Foreign coaches are expected
to improve athletes' performances instead of giving them basic
knowledge. (yan/amd)