Koi lovers flock to Lembang for contest

Koi lovers flock to Lembang for contest

By K. Basrie

LEMBANG, West Java (JP): The weather was chilly last Saturday
afternoon in the mountainous area of Lembang. The drizzling rain
and the heavy mist that covered the peaks added to the wintry
mood.

For locals the atmosphere was not unusual, having long become
used to it.

What was puzzling that May 6 was the continuous flow of shiny
luxury sedans and jeeps, mostly Mercedes Benz and BMWs, passing
by their houses as they headed up into the hills for the vast
Istana Bunga villa complex.

Judging from the license plates, most of the cars were from
Jakarta and Bandung.

"I've never seen as many cars as today. It used to be so
lonely up here," commented Suprapto, a worker at the complex.

Inside the sports center at the villa complex, three elderly
Japanese along with some Singapore and Hong Kong nationals -- all
attired in dark brown waistcoats -- were busy with the colorful
creatures moving gracefully beneath the crystal-clear water in
dozens of deep-blue containers.

The host, Edi Sukamto Josana, a noted businessman in West Java
who also owns the complex, was busily flitting around the room,
expelling unauthorized visitors, including some journalists.

"Out, out, out," he shouted pushing the interlopers out of the
hall.

"Hey, guards," he shouted to his security guards. "Do your job
correctly!"

The chastened guards sprung to attention at this, rushing to
follow the boss' order, escorting the intruders out and slamming
the door shut to make sure they did not come back.

According to Edi's assistant, Acong, the organizers did not
want the foreigners disturbed. And, most importantly, he said,
the hall was housing some 600 precious creatures.

"In terms of money, it could reach at least Rp 20 billion,"
Acong told The Jakarta Post.

He was referring to some 600 dazzling koi entered by their
owners in the First ZNA Bandung Chapter International Koi Show
Indonesia.

As the title indicates, the event was authorized by Zen Nippon
Airinkai (ZNA), the Japanese Koi Lovers Association.

Enthusiasts

The large number of cars heading to the sports center
apparently belonged to the owners of the entered fish and
numerous koi enthusiasts, who wanted to get a look at the fish
and guess at the eventual winner, which was announced later in
the evening.

Like Edi, Acong was not eager to talk to the press about the
event. None of the Japanese judges were even allowed to speak to
reporters.

"A koi collector in Surabaya found his fish missing from his
pond shortly after the local media ran a story about his
business," Acong said and walked away, effectively putting an end
to the conversation.

Acong and Edi might have a good reason for their reticence. In
June 1998, for example, Singaporean David Lau filed a report with
the police on the island about the theft of his two S$5,000 koi.

Later, a Singapore court sentenced two Thais -- Rathchata
Mangkorn, 24, and Samart Setraksa, 22 -- to three months in jail
for cooking and eating one of the 5-year-old koi from Lau's pond.

Lau told The Strait Times he reported the case simply because
he felt as if he had just lost his children.

Owners of the koi entered in the May 5 to May 6 competition
had the same familial feelings about their fish.

"Other people might not understand our passion for this fish.
It's a hobby," said O. Darmawan from the Jakarta Koi Center.

Koi collector Bolly A. Prabanto, a financial general manager
at a leading company in Jakarta, said: "It's just like paintings
for others. There's an interaction between the collector and the
painting."

"That's why it's difficult for non-koi lovers to understand
the unreasonable price of the fish. There's no written rules or
price list for them, it's just a matter of appreciation," said
Bolly, who did not enter his fish in the contest but attended
dinner and a seminar held in conjunction with the contest.

What a price!

According to some koi collectors who entered their favorite
fish in the contest, the fish in the event could have fetched
between Rp 200,000 for a young koi and Rp 1 billion for an adult
koi.

But many of the fish, including those put up for sale in a
bid, had a price of between Rp 2 million and Rp 5 million.

Like in many international koi contests, the Lembang
competition -- the first such event held in the country with
overseas contestants -- strictly followed the standard ratings
for color, pattern, variety, shape, performance, cleanliness and
healthiness.

"The contest did not accept any 'local' or mixed-breed koi,
such as the hirenaga-goi," participant Ayau of the Bandung-based
Hanura Koi Center said.

At stake in the contest were 137 trophies plus fish food,
along with certificates issued by the Japanese koi association.

The large number of trophies was in line with the number of
different categories for color and size.

There were six color categories contested in the event, namely
kohaku (white koi with red patterns); taisho sanke (white koi
with red and black patterns); showa sanshoku (black koi with red
and white patterns); bekko/utsurimono (white/black koi with
yellow, red and white/black patterns); kinginrin (koi with silver
scales); and mixed color.

Each color category was divided into seven sizes, that is from
10 centimeters to 19 centimeters (called baby koi); 20
centimeters to 29 centimeters; 30 centimeters to 39 centimeters;
and so on.

Trophies were also given to grand champions from each color
category.

The organizers charged the owners of the between Rp 200,000
and Rp 400,000 for each koi they wished to enter.

Accompanied by trainee judges from Singapore and Indonesia,
the official judges carefully took each koi from its container
with a large fishing net and brought them out of the hall into an
the open space to examine them thoroughly.

When the winners were announced during the dinner on Saturday
evening, many visitors expressed disappointment that most of the
grand champion trophies were grabbed by the host: Edi.

"It's unfair! But everybody here already predicted he would
took all the grand champions," a participant said.

When asked to comment, Edi laughed: "This is a contest and I
didn't pay for the tickets for the judges, just for their
accommodations and meals during their stay here."

Standing at the podium, Richard Tan, an executive of a koi
association in Singapore, asked the foreigners in the audience
not to support Edi's plan to hold a similar event for Southeast
Asian countries.

"Okay, okay? Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong ... okay. We won't
approve it. It's no use to participate and bring our fish from
our countries to Bandung if all the trophies only go to Edi.
Okay?"

But Edi simply said that Tan was just joking.

Traditionally, the price of a fish that was initially worth,
say, Rp 250 million, could rise to Rp 1 billion if it grabbed the
grand champion title at an international contest.

Koi are believed to have originated in East Asia and were
later developed by Japanese breeders. Formally, the Japanese call
the fish nishikigoi, or the "colored carp", and it is considered
their national fish. But around the world the fish is known as
koi.

Koi is also considered the king of the freshwater fish due to
its size, which can reach over a meter long, and its ability to
live for up to 125 years.