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)