KONI faces continued funding shortage for sports program

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The National Sports Council (KONI) is again facing the prospect of strained finances next year with the disclosure of potential government funding for its sports activities.

KONI budgeting and planning head Indra Kartasasmita revealed on Friday that the council would likely get only Rp 132 billion (US$14.6 million) from the government, far below the proposed Rp 201 billion.

"An official at the Directorate General of Budgetary Affairs at the Ministry of Finance told me about the amount KONI will get," Indra said.

He provided a written report which disclosed that Rp 77 billion of the pledged amount will be allocated toward six events next year: the South East Asian (SEA) Games, ASEAN Para Games, Asian Indoor Games, Islamic Solidarity Games, Muslim Women's Games and the Arafura Games.

The Indonesia Awakens (IA) program, under which 90 shortlisted athletes of 12 sports are being groomed for Indonesia's medal target at the 2006 Asian Games, will receive Rp 35 billion, while the remainder of the fund will be channeled toward operational expenses.

"It will be difficult for us to achieve high performances with such a small amount of funding," Indra said.

The report also listed the national sports budgets of several neighboring countries: Malaysia had budgeted $40 million in 2001 toward sports development and another $12.5 million to host the 2001 SEA Games; while Singapore has an annual allocation of S$100 million ($66 million) for national sports; and Thailand an annual sports budget of $270 million.

KONI secretary-general Djohar Arifin said the council would need additional funding to develop national sports and organize activities, including sending athletes abroad for training.

"We feel relieved that Commission X at the House of Representatives made a pledge during a hearing session on Wednesday to help us in our efforts to locate more funds," Djohar said, adding that KONI would, as usual, turn to corporate sponsorship to alleviate the shortage.

Funding is a problem KONI faces every year, and has contributed significantly to the declining performance of Indonesian athletes as well as the lack of new recruits and next- generation players.

This year, KONI received only Rp 42.1 billion ($4.6 million) of the Rp 78.7 billion budget it had proposed to the government, most of which was used to finance Indonesia's bid in the Athens Olympics and the Paralympic Games.

"We only received Rp 9.8 billion for IA this year," Indra said. "How can we reach our target of bringing home 10 gold medals from the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar with such limited funds?"