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.