Hayono wants Games sticker sales to go on

JAKARTA (JP): The state minister for youth affairs and sports, Hayono Isman, said yesterday he hoped the Ministry of Social Services would extend the permit for the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games consortium to raise funds.

"The consortium has guaranteed today that it will improve its management of selling stickers. It will also be responsible to the public for its management in an open and transparent way," Hayono said.

"As compensation, my office will recommend that ministries, governors and other state-owned companies support the fund raising," he said.

The consortium, chaired by President Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo, said PT Angkasa Rona Graha, which is authorized to collect funds by selling stickers, collected Rp 2.9 billion (US$1.2 million) in May 1997.

But this is far below the Rp 35 billion target.

Sticker sales raised Rp 1.3 billion in Jakarta, while only Rp 8 million was collected in Surabaya.

Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra and Central Java are among the provinces where stickers have yet to be sold.

The consortium is allowed to raise funds by selling 17.75 million stickers over three months. The three-month period ends tomorrow.

Sixteen million stickers cost Rp 1,000 each, while the rest cost between Rp 2,500 and Rp 50,000.

The stickers are sold to state-owned electricity company PLN customers who used more than 900 watts, state-owned water company PAM customers, state-owned telecommunications company Telkom customers, drivers or car owners renewing or applying for driver's licenses and vehicle registration documents.

Hotels, restaurants, recreational parks and airports have also charged their customers for the stickers.

Earlier yesterday, Enggartiasto Lukita, the consortium's promotion and business deputy, said the ministry's director general for social aids, Syafei Anjasmaya, had reprimanded the consortium over the way it had sold the stickers.

"If we can extend our permit to raise funds from sticker sales, PT Angkasa Rona Graha will be fully responsible and do it in accordance with the ministerial decree," he said.

"Selling stickers has made us realize that it is not an effective way to raise funds from the public," he said.

Reports

Hayono said one way to control the sticker selling was by publicizing the consortium's monthly reports.

"It's a very good idea to announce monthly reports through TV, radio or newspapers. If the consortium could do that, I believe people would be more willing to donate their money," he said.

But Enggartiasto said it was impossible to stage monthly reports.

"It would take more money to stage such a monthly report on TV," he said.

Many people have complained that they did not receive stickers they had paid for.

"The consortium still has to give the stickers to the public. I understand that the public also wants to help the consortium but they need to know what the money is being raised for and how it will be spent," he said.

Enggartiasto said the consortium received $600,000 income from National Panasonic, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the consortium on June 6, and Rp 10.81 billion from PT Angkasa Rona Graha.

"So far, we've spent Rp 20.5 billion, Rp 19 billion of which was used to support national training," he said.

Enggartiasto said the consortium expected all merchandising - pins, caps, T-shirts, mascot Hanoman (a white-haired half-monkey knight) dolls, traveling bags, banana bags and umbrellas - to be on sale by the end of the month.

"We don't want to take risks by marketing them earlier because first, we're afraid that piracy will happen and second, we're afraid that only few of them will sell," he said. (yan)