Proud Mastrans enjoys cash bonus bonanza
JAKARTA (JP): Whopping cash bonuses have poured into Mastrans Bandung Raya's coffer following its triumph in the Indonesian soccer league championship Sunday.
The winning team was received by West Java governor Nuriana in Bandung at his office and left with a Rp 150 million (US$63,829) purse.
"Please don't look at the amount. This is an expression of love to the team which has done our province proud," Nuriana said. He said Mastrans should use the money for training purposes.
Mastrans manager Tri Goestoro commented that with the bonus, the money in his team's bank account since the start of the league in September last year had now increased to Rp 600 million.
"Apart from the governor's award, we also received money from the West Java Soccer Association, the Bandung Raya Foundation and the management of the club," Goestoro said.
On the occasion, governor Nuriana also showered five other West Java soccer teams with money for their progress during the league's season.
Nuriana handed over cash bonuses worth Rp 25 million each to Persib Bandung, Persikab Kabupaten Bandung and Persita Tangerang for their success in reaching the league's final 12 round-robin matches.
He also rewarded PSB Bogor, which has just advanced to the premier division, with an incentive of Rp 30 million and Persikota Tangerang with Rp 20 million for its promotion to the first division.
Mastrans won the league after beating PSM Ujungpandang 2-0 at the Senayan main stadium here on Sunday.
In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, PSM received a warm welcome from "a sea of people" despite the loss, Antara reported.
PSM captain Yeyen Tumena exited the airplane holding the league's runner-up trophy high above his head. Among the VIPs who welcomed the team were South Sulawesi Deputy Governor Masnawi and chief of the Wirabuana Regional Military Command overseeing Sulawesi Maj. Gen. Agum Gumelar.
Fans lined the streets from the Hasanuddin airport to Ujungpandang's downtown, cheering and parading their newly arrived heroes, who were riding a convertible. The fanatic fans went silent while one read a statement asking PSM manager Nurdin Halik not to resign after the loss. They believed their team lost only because it was less lucky. They resumed the street fiesta, traveling around the city in an array of motorcars that caused heavy traffic jams.
In Surabaya, East Java, Surabaya mayor Sunarto Sumoprawiro said it never occurred to him that Mitra Surabaya supporters would go so wild after the team's 2-4 semifinal loss to Mastrans on Oct. 4. They ate without paying, committed robberies and destroyed the train carrying them back home from Jakarta.
"This is a bitter lesson for all of us. We should see to it that such incidents never happen in the future," Sumoprawiro said in a press conference. He expressed his suspicion that they were not the "real" supporters he had sent to Jakarta in four buses.
State-owned railway company spokesman Helmy Azis said 31 people were injured during the hooliganism, which caused Rp 319 million in material losses. (arf)