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.