Hooliganism deplorable

May I refer to your report "Badminton hooligans probably recruits" which was published in The Jakarta Post on May 24, 1994.

I must say that, while we can be proud of Indonesia's victories in winning both the Thomas and Uber Cups, I am indeed ashamed at the kind of "hospitality" that was extended to foreign participants, who were, in fact, Indonesia's guests at the competition. Some of them were hardly treated as guests at all, but just the opposite.

I find the "gestures" extended to the Malaysians, particularly, during the Thomas Cup finals, most embarrassing. They are, of course, Indonesia's rivals. But however bitter the rivalry with them might be, the fact remained that they were guests of Indonesia, as host to the tournament, and they deserved to be treated as guests!

But, were they treated as guests? What actually happened, particularly during the Thomas Cup finals on May 21, most certainly showed that they were not. Even before the final matches began, the leader of the Malaysian side, Rashid Sidek, was already made the target of plastic bottles. Later, sticks and even rubbish were also thrown not only at the Malaysian players but also their officials, resulting in one of their officers incurring a cut on the face! And then they were spat upon! And the situation degenerated even further that, not only did the last two matches in the finals have to be abandoned, but the presentations of medals to the Malaysian team, as runners-up in the competition, had to be done in their own dressing room! This is, indeed, history for Indonesia as host of the 1994 Thomas Cup!

Those disgraceful incidents must have had a very significant impact on Malaysia's attitude towards Indonesia. For they occurred right in the face of the Malaysian Prime Minister's wife, who was the Patron of the Malaysian Badminton Association and also in front of the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Malaysia, who was also president of the Malaysian Badminton Association. Perhaps these facts are not considered important to those responsible for organizing the event. But they do reflect the kind of respect we have for other people, and, if we do not show respect for others, can we expect others to respect us too?

Supporters of the Indonesian team have commonly been identified as the source of the trouble mentioned above. But the statement by the Chairman of the Badminton Association of Indonesia which, as quoted by The Jakarta Post, which described the mob's behavior as still normal, is most unfortunate. It gives the impression to the outside world that such disgraceful behavior is indeed a normal way of life of the Indonesian people. That certainly contradicts the fine cultural tradition of the Indonesian people that has often been portrayed to the outside world.

In this regard, the suspicion of the University of Indonesia's psychologist Dr. Budi Matindas that "most of the rowdy, bottle- throwing Indonesian supporters were recruited to be there" is interesting to note. The psychologist doesn't identify the recruiting party. But, it is interesting also to note another local newspaper report which suggested, based on a source, that indeed some 2,000 personnel from certain backgrounds were recruited to be at the Thomas Cup Finals.

The damage that the incidents caused to Indonesia's image to the outside world is obvious, bearing in mind that the event was watched by the international community.

CEDEK DARSONO

Jakarta