PON a success in record achievements

PON a success in record achievements

By Ivy Susanti

SURABAYA (JP): The National Games (PON) were held in Jakarta
for the first 33 years of their existence, before this year's
just-concluded edition of the event was moved outside of the
capital.

East Java took over from Jakarta in hosting the quadrennial
event, the first PON of the 21st century and by most accounts a
rousing success.

Entering the Games with the ambition of capturing the overall
title for the first time, East Java also set a goal of
strengthening national unity despite the political situation in
the country, colored by disasters, prolonged riots and calls for
secession.

East Java managed to fulfill its ambition of topping the medal
tally by bagging 132 golds, 107 silvers and 115 bronzes. Compare
this to the PON 1969 where the province claimed the runner-up
position with only 65 golds, 59 silvers and 52 bronzes, while
Jakarta stood atop table with 101 golds, 69 silvers and 40
bronzes.

Despite its achievement, East Java also was able to encourage
the Irian Jayan contingent to put sports ahead of politics. The
Irianese athletes were in the spotlight due to recent calls for
the province to separate from the country and change its name to
Papua.

The Irianese athletes were allowed to call themselves Papuans
and hoist their Bintang Kejora flag, but still the focus remained
on sports.

Sprinter Yanes Raubaba, one of the Irian contingent, won gold
with a national record of 10.13 seconds in the men's 100m dash.

Five years of training in Jakarta has not affected his loyalty
to his homeland. "I love Papua. I won't move to Jakarta and
compete for it. My spirit raised when I heard people call us
'Papuan,'" he said.

For his achievement, he was congratulated by President
Abdurrahman Wahid during the closing ceremony on Friday, along
with men's powerlifter Sutrisno of Lampung.

At least 35 PON records in weightlifting, powerlifting, track
and field, cycling and swimming were broken this year. Some 30
new national records were also set here. A number of women's and
men's weightlifters and powerlifters, including Sutrisno, were
able to surpass Asian Games records and world records.

Critics

Despite the success, there was some criticism, some of which
was aimed at East Java Governor Imam Utomo Suparno. The governor
chaired the organizing committee and appointed a number of his
officials and trustees to help him organize the event, which cost
some Rp 65 billion (US$7.6 million) to host, with the money
coming from provincial revenues.

There was also a fears the state officials would lack
professionalism in organizing the event, and also a deep-rooted
suspicion they would misuse the budget. While the first fear
remains debatable, any grounds for the second will become clear
after the governor delivers his accountability report.

The referees at the Games also were criticized for biased
judgments and for awarding shared gold medals to competitors
after violent protests from the respective contingents.

In some martial arts events like tae kwon do, wushu and pencak
silat, there were two gold medalists although the Indonesian Tae
kwon do Association and the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association
established strict rules to avoid subjectivity in refereeing the
bouts. In wushu, however, vague rules led to some confusion
during this first-ever staging of the sport at PON.

The legal commission of the National Sports Council (KONI) is
looking into these irregularities.

Complaints

A number of the sports venues also were on the receiving end
of complaints. The electronic score board at the swimming venue,
for example, did not immediately display the swimmers' times
after they finished the race.

Moreover, the announcers repeatedly made errors when
announcing the names of the swimmers and the provinces they were
representing, and some journalists complained about the
less-than-friendly officials.

"I think the officials here are quite good. But the electronic
timer takes so much time before it shows our times," said women's
swimmer Meitri Widya Pangestika of Central Java.

At the nearby archery range, referees were upset because they
were only paid for 10 days.

"We have been in Surabaya since June 15 but they only started
to pay us on June 20," said a referee who asked for anonymity.

Even the liaison officials, who were volunteering their time,
came under fire for not knowing the directions to cities outside
of Surabaya, such as Malang or Gresik.

"I think it is understandable. Most of them are fresh high
school graduates and this is their first experience," said KONI
spokesman Ahmed Solihin.

Some contingents also bemoaned the fact that the sports venues
were not centralized, being located in seven cities in East Java:
Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Malang, Jember, Gresik, Situbondo and Kediri.

"We find it difficult to supporting our teammates at the other
sports events because the venues are scattered around a long
distance," said John Bawole, a bridge competitor from South
Sulawesi.

Some of the athletes from outside East Java also criticized
the behavior of local supporters.

"In the finals of the team saber, a local supporter pointed a
knife at the referee. Finally, East Java was declared the gold
medalist in the event," said Iwan Kartiwan, a fencing athlete
from West Java, which took silver in the event.