KONI hopes for financial assistance from new government

KONI hopes for financial assistance from new government

JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) expects the
new government to give financial support to boost sports
development in the country, should its ambitious Golden Garuda
project be included in the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN).

Togi Hutagaol, KONI's official in charge of planning and
budgeting, said on Friday that only the government could help
raise fund for sports development at this time, as sport was
becoming a national industry.

"We will specify our draft immediately and submit it to the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). This is merely a concept
and should the government accept it, we will prepare a five-year
program to accomplish this project," he said after meeting with
officials from the office of the state minister of youth affairs
and sports, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of
Education and Culture here on Friday.

Togi said the draft includes plans, among others, to continue
sports education from elementary schools to colleges and
universities, to build sports and health facilities in schools
and housing complexes, to increase professional training for
sports teachers and to give rewards to athletes and coaches.

"We also hope the government can create a conducive
environment to develop sports business and industries. We want
sports bodies to be able to raise fund on their own," he said.

Hopefully in the future, athletes would not have to choose
between schools and sports because both activities would go
together.

"Sports will be included in the curriculum and outside of it.
Sports will be part of education and both can be done at the same
time. Athletes will not have to choose between schools or their
sports career," he said.

However, Togi failed to mention the deadline for KONI to
present the draft to the session on state guidelines for MPR's
General Session.

He said KONI would set up a special team to lobby its concept
to members of the MPR.

"We plan to lobby MPR members to brief them on the background
of sports development," said Togi, without naming team candidate
members.

KONI had blamed the national athletes' poor performances in
sporting events such as the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in
Brunei Darussalam, where the country only finished third after
Thailand and Malaysia, on lack of financial support.

Through the project, KONI aims to finish sixth in the 2006
Asian Games. Indonesia was 11th with six gold medals in the 1998
Games in Bangkok.

The Rp 24 billion (US$3.1 million) Golden Garuda project was
established by the government three years ago.

But KONI official had acknowledged that the project had so far
failed to meet the expected results, saying that there had been
no special task force to supervise the use of the funds
throughout the provinces.

Provinces are authorized to use the funds from the project
when they receive the money directly from the Ministry of Home
Affairs, which is appointed to distribute the fund.

In the first year of the project, the ministry disbursed Rp 15
billion, while in the second year it distributed Rp 9 billion and
Rp 3 billion for the 1998 Asian Games.

Unfortunately, most of the fund was not used to boost sports
development in the provinces but to finance the activities of the
Civil Servants' Wives Association (Dharma Wanita). (ivy)