KONI still needs financial aid from govt
JAKARTA (JP): The government will maintain its financial assistance to the National Sports Council (KONI) regardless of its independent status and the inception of regional autonomy, Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja said on Tuesday.
Speaking in his address to sports executives attending KONI's annual congress, Surjadi said the central government shouldered a responsibility to develop national sports, as stipulated in Government Regulation No. 25/2000.
Article 2 of the regulation states that the central government is obliged to support local governments to construct sports facilities, encourage the sports community and help KONI decide on the standards of sports competed at national and international levels.
"I think it remains relevant for the government and the whole community to support the development of national sports, which in the past was funded through a special fund allocated to provinces under the Presidential Instruction for the Golden Garuda project," he said.
The project is expected to place Indonesia sixth in the medal standings at the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar.
Soerjadi said further regional autonomy, which took effect on Jan. 1, would not hamper the development of national sports because local governments could use a portion of the Rp 5 billion provincial allocation fund to improve their region's sports achievements.
"The local authorities can consider the presence of sports organization in their areas through the provincial and regency- level sports body. The sports development and the Golden Garuda project are still relevant and worth supporting as part of the improvement of human resources," Surjadi said.
He asserted that local governments' commitment to promoting national sports would strengthen national unity and improve Indonesia's image in the international forum," he said.
He asked the local authority to cooperate with provincial and regency-level sports bodies and the city council.
KONI deputy chairman Arie Sudewo welcomed the government's pledge of assistance. He warned, however, that each province or regency would not be able to disburse sports funds that quickly.
"Each local sports body must communicate and interact fairly with the local authority," he said on the sidelines of the congress on Tuesday.
He said the provincial and regency sports council could seek its own sponsorship but they should coordinate with local sports organization and clubs.
According to him, KONI and the national sports community need a law to ensure shared authority and a shared budget and to define the roles of the provincial and regency sports body and the provincial and regency sports branches.
The deliberation of the new sports bill is underway and Arie said that KONI needs more advice from its branches and the sports organizations during its plenary session.
Unlike its sports patron, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) has carried on its decentralized training program in some provinces to net prospective shuttlers.
PBSI executive chairman Karsono said that the current training organization would not undergo major changes. "The PBSI system is capable of improving a shuttler's achievement. We have also developed a good competition system."
He said to reduce dependency on its central office, some clubs in certain provinces have also initiated cooperation with private companies, like Medan, North Sumatra (Prima Bank), Yogyakarta (Haga Bank), East Java (Surya Naga, Aqua), Jakarta (Jaya Raya and Tangkas) and Central Java (Djarum).
In the near future, he said that any regional branches could send their shuttlers to international tournaments without necessarily having attended a series of training sessions at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.
"It's also possible for the provincial and regency branches of the PBSI to organize their own training center. But many shuttlers still want to attend training in Cipayung," he said.
Other sports which fail to, or are unable, to produce consistent achievements will still be able to rely on financial aid issued from central office or provincial authority.
"The Indonesian Swimming Association (PRSI) used to allocate its budget to its provincial branches, but it's now difficult to seek sponsorship. The PRSI branches now rely heavily on the provincial sports council. The council will seek money, but they should concentrate on the potential sports in their areas," said Dadeng Kurnia, PRSI's vice secretary general.(ivy)