Minister fails to sign Games sponsorship

Minister fails to sign Games sponsorship

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP): Thailand's education minister failed
to show up to sign a major sponsorship contract for the 1998
Asian Games, but the company on Friday said it hoped to wrap up
the deal next week.

Sukhavich Rangsitpol's no-show for the meeting with Acer Group
of Taiwan angered Santiparb Tejavanija, the games marketing
director, so much that he resigned.

But Santiparb decided to stay on in his post after president
of the Olympic Council of Asia, Shiek Ahmad al-Sahah al-Fahd of
Kuwait, appealed to Santiparb to reconsider, saying his efforts
were crucial to the success of the Games.

Acer Chairman Stan Shih and other dignitaries were left
waiting and perplexed at a Bangkok convention hall when Sukhavich
didn't show up at the meeting Thursday morning.

An aide to Sukhavich said the minister did not attend the
meeting because a clause detailing what type of software would be
supplied by the company was missing from the contract. He offered
no other explanation for the minister's behavior.

Acer will provide the computer systems and software necessary
for official scoring and medal tallies at the Olympic-style
games.

The incident was the latest in Bangkok's bumbling attempts to
stage the Games, scheduled for next December.

The Olympic Council of Asia has threatened on several
occasions to shift the games to another country because of poor
preparations and a lackadaisical attitude from Thai government
officials.

The Thai government hopes the event will showcase Bangkok as a
modern, developed city, but critics have said it is more likely
to spotlight the capital's many problems, including massive
traffic jams and pollution.