KONI to propose review of sports in state guidelines
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) plans to recommend the House of Representatives to review their vision for national sports development in the next state guidelines (GBHN).
Enny Hardjanto, KONI's official in charge of media and promotion, told reporters on Wednesday that the council would ask House members to prioritize athlete achievement instead of targeting to become overall champions.
"The policy should be changed. We should focus on grooming the athletes to be recordbreakers rather than overall champions," she said on the sidelines of a meeting to evaluate Indonesia's show at the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam last August.
Enny said that the government should show more political will to support national sports development, particularly in funding training.
"The governments from other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia give their full support for athlete development. Both countries have substantial training programs. Here, we do not have a program or the government's commitment," she said.
Indonesia bowed out to archrival Thailand and overall runner- up Malaysia in the SEA Games, taking home 44 golds, 43 silvers and 58 bronzes, which was less than its estimated 70 golds.
Two years ago in Jakarta, Indonesia claimed 177 of 440 golds at stake in 33 sport events. With only 21 sport events featured this year, Thailand reigned supreme with 65 golds, 48 silvers and 56 bronzes.
Malaysia, the host of the 2001 Games, was second with 57 golds, 45 silvers and 42 bronzes.
KONI officials earlier blamed the athletes' performance at the Games on the short-term training period and shortage of funds which had prevented athletes from going overseas for training.
KONI also evaluated the performance in a meeting last week and pledged to announce the result on Monday, but the special task force assigned to study the evaluation had not reached any conclusion as of Wednesday night.
Enny said that the conclusion of the meeting would be made public on Thursday afternoon and promised that the report would be 'sensational'.
"The evaluation was done in detail and in a scientific way. There has never been any complete evaluation like this before. Everybody will be surprised at the overall evaluation result," she said.
She said that KONI would put certain sports on top of the list for training for the 2001 SEA Games and the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.
"In the near future, we will determine which athletes should be sent to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and what their medal targets are. After that, we will arrange a strategy to prepare our athletes for the 2001 SEA Games and 2002 Asian Games," she said.
Enny also said that KONI would pursue a bid to host the 2006 Asian Games despite public criticism for its failure to prioritize the money for athlete development instead.
"Sports is a long-term effort. If we don't host the Asiad, we will not have a second chance because other Asian countries have better athletes. Besides, being a host will also improve our economy," she said.
Indonesia launched its campaign for the 2006 Asiad at Bandar Seri Begawan in August. It last hosted the Games in 1962.
Indonesia will be competing with Malaysia, India, Hong Kong, Qatar, Syria and Uzbekistan for the right to host the 2006 Asiad. The Olympic Council of Asia will announce the winning bid in October 2000. (ivy)