KONI calls for SEA Games bonuses
JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council (KONI) chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar is holding out for the government to provide insurance bonuses to medalists in the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, despite the refusal of State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Agung Laksono.
"I will try hard to make the government provide the bonus as a reward to the athletes. It will be more precious and prestigious if the bonus comes from the government instead of KONI," he said on Tuesday.
KONI has urged the government to provide Rp 2.5 billion (US$329,000) for bonuses. The government, through the National Development and Planning Board, has handed over Rp 5.5 billion to finance the SEA Games training program, but Agung said there were no more funds.
KONI also received Rp 4.5 billion in financial assistance from the Gelora Senayan Management Board.
"I think Pak Agung was talking about the preparation fund, not the bonus. I will also try to find another way, perhaps by making requests to state enterprises," Wismoyo said.
He said he discussed the matter with State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng and received a favorable response.
"His response was very good. I think we can obtain about Rp 2 billion from the state enterprises' profits," he said.
Wismoyo said he was considering distributing about Rp 25 million in insurance bonuses for gold medalists, Rp 2 million for silver medalists and Rp 1 million for bronze medalists. The amounts are the same as were awarded to medalists two years ago.
Earlier Tuesday, executive director of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) Oyong Karmayudha was pessimistic about his athletes' chances in the event, to be held in Brunei from Aug. 7 to Aug. 15.
"Indonesia is facing tough challenges this year because six of 10 participating countries hired our national coaches. Some events have their tryout here but Indonesia doesn't have anywhere else to train," he said.
Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Brunei have hired Indonesian coaches. Singaporeans have been practicing in Surabaya and Jakarta while Brunei's athletes are training in Bandung and Jakarta. Vietnamese athletes trained here two months ago.
Indonesia -- which will field 10 male and five female athletes in the bouts and six males and six females in the martial arts performance category -- only has a chance to win 12 of 21 golds on offer. Two years ago it won 17 of 20 golds, with the rest taken by Vietnam.
Oyong said on Aug. 12 that about 20 countries' representatives would gather in Brunei to attend the official establishment of the Asia Pacific Pencak Silat Federation. A regional federation is one of the requirements for a sport to be featured at the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.
The federation's next program is to stage the Malaysian Open in June 2000 in Kuala Lumpur and the 2000 World Championships, hopefully in Kuwait.(yan)