Jakarta to host 1997 SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia looks set to play host to the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 1997 despite the heavy financial burden.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman said after a meeting with President Soeharto on Friday that Indonesia could not refuse to hold the 1997 Games after both Vietnam and Brunei announced they were not prepared to stage the regional sporting meet.
"Politically it's difficult for us to refuse the offer since we have been dubbed a sport powerhouse in the region," Hayono said.
The biennial event has been touring the six Southeast Asian countries in alphabetical order since 1977. Vietnam and Brunei were originally scheduled to host the 19th and 20th Games after this year's meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Hayono said that President Soeharto asked him to carefully catalog any constraints, noting that Indonesia will conduct its general election in the same year. "The President expects that any preparations for the Games will not play havoc with the election," said Hayono.
Hayono indicated that the SEA Games would take place several months after the May election. "I assume we can make it between September and December," Hayono said.
He rejected the idea of moving the event outside the capital, as Thailand has done, insisting that only Jakarta is able to provide the sports facilities and accommodate the many athletes.
The minister is worried about the financial burden, since Jakarta is also preparing for the 1996 National Games.
"We will have to collect Rp 28 billion (US$12.7 million) for the SEA Games," Hayono said.
He added that he would include the tentative budget for the SEA Games in his ministry's proposal for 1996/97 annual budget which is slated to be submitted to the National Development Planning Board.
"We are reluctant to beg for more financial aid from businesses," he said. A group of businesspeople handed over Rp 18 billion (US$8.18 million) to sponsor the national team to compete in the 18th Games in Chiang Mai.
Indonesia staged the Games twice, in 1979 and 1987 in Jakarta, since its participation in the sporting event in 1977.
Hayono also said that the government will give private companies the chance to organize the SEA Games, something that has not been done before. (amd)