PON organizers told to rethink athlete transportation plans

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the House of Representatives' Commission IX, which overseas youth affairs, sports, religion, education and culture, told the organizer of the upcoming National Games to consider the public's transportation needs during the event.

The organizer plans to use some of the PPD city buses as transportation for athletes from their accommodations to the sports venues.

"The main problem is transportation. People complain that city transportation is awful and that there are not enough buses. I urge the organizer not to worsen the situation," Muhammad Affandi, the commission's deputy, told reporters yesterday.

"I think the organizer can contact ministries and the military bases to get them to lend buses or trucks for transporting the athletes to the venues," he added.

About 20 members of Commission IX visited the Senayan Sports Hall, the Senayan Main Stadium, the tennis courts, the shooting range and the Century Park Hotel to observe the preparation for the games, which will be opened by President Soeharto on Sept. 9.

Affandi expressed his disappointment at the organizer's plans to use some of the budget for the games to import sports equipment.

"Should we buy the equipment? We can produce aircraft but we're not able to make sports equipment?" Affandi said.

He said businesspeople were reluctant to invest in producing sports equipment because it is not profitable.

"They prefer to invest in property, cars and other things rather than in sports equipment," he commented.

Affandi said that if the organizers had to import equipment, they should give the used equipment to sport organizations after the events, rather than storing it.

Edi Widodo, the secretary-general of the organizer, said that all of the equipment needed for each sport would be ready for use by Aug. 9.

"The organizer has asked the Directorate General of Customs and Excise to reduce the import tax on the sports equipment, but we haven't received any answer yet," Edi said.

To assist in the enforcement of doping regulations, the laboratory at Jl. Rawasari Selatan, Central Jakarta, is being renovated. The work will be completed soon.

"We sent two doping control experts to Australia and Germany to study the anti-doping procedures there and they have returned home," Edi said.

The Indonesian laboratory, which is still under license to the Australian doping laboratory, will have two experts from Australia to supervise the procedures. (yan)