National Sports Council urges government to develop regions

National Sports Council urges government to develop regions

Eva C. Komandjaja and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The National Sports Council (KONI) has urged the newly revived
state sports department to start facilitating the establishment
of sports infrastructure in remote areas across the country.

Djoko Pramono, head of development affairs at KONI, raised the
urgent need to build sports academies like the one in Ragunan,
South Jakarta, in every province.

"South Korea initially copied our program and built sports
schools in every province. Now, ironically, they're way ahead
us," Djoko said. South Korea is a leading Asian country in
sports.

Djoko was speaking in a forum on Tuesday, attended by State
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Adhyaksa Dault.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reinstated the post, which was
annulled in 2000, as part of his United Indonesia Cabinet.

Adhyaksa -- who has conceded his lack of knowledge on sports
but expressed a keen interest in learning about the issue -- was
recently blasted for his late arrival to a sports forum, which
resulted in a media boycott and cancellation of the event.

Tuesday's forum briefed Adhyaksa on the immediate issues in
the field.

Djoko said the lack of sports facilities and funding had
impeded the development of young talents, which was crucial to
ensuring Indonesia's international competitiveness.

"KONI has faced difficulties in this area. That's why our
performance in the South East Asian (SEA) Games and Asian Games
has declined from year to year," he said.

Indonesia had been a dominant force in the biennial multi-
event SEA Games until 1999, when it finished in an unprecedented
third place behind Thailand and Malaysia.

"We became content with our achievements. We were too
confident about our prospects when we were up against another
challenge in the games. Things have changed now," Djoko said.

He said building sports facilities at the district level was
imperative for Indonesia to climb back up to the top in regional
sports.

"The minister will need to find a way to build sports
facilities such as district sports clubs containing a basketball
court, badminton court and swimming pool.

"Without such facilities, we will never be able to scout new
talent properly to meet the needs of our national sports
development program," he said.

Djoko also saw a need to impose sanctions for "defecting"
athletes, in reference to the refusal of tennis players to join
the Indonesia Awakens (IA) program.

Adhyaksa said he would look into developing a national program
through the sports bill, which is being drafted.

On a separate occasion, Adhyaksa underlined a plan to set up a
permanent sports development fund of about Rp 1 trillion (US$111
million) through corporate sponsorship. In exchange, contributing
companies would receive a tax break.

"We hope that we can raise as much funds as possible, but Rp 1
trillion would be enough," he told reporters during a gathering
to break the fast at his residence in Kalibata, South Jakarta,
and promised a transparent and accountable management of the
fund.