Revision of sports bill sought

Revision of sports bill sought

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The sports bill, which is eagerly awaited, to improve
Indonesia's sports development, will need another revision in the
wake of the recent leadership changes in the country, according
to a member of the House of Representatives.

The bill was been submitted to the government during Megawati
Sukarnoputri's term but it was not finalized, which brought about
uncertainty in its progress.

Head of Commission X in the House Heri Ahmadi said that now
the membership of the commission had changed, a revision would be
called again before being submitted back to the new government.

"The bill has to be discussed again since it was initially
drafted by previous members of the House," Heri told The Jakarta
Post after a hearing with officials of the National Sports
Council (KONI) here on Wednesday.

However, Heri was confident that the revision process would
not consume much time since the bill was already prepared and
drafted.

"We only need to wait for the presidential instruction. As
soon as we receive it, it will probably take a month to pass the
bill into law," he said.

He added that his fellow House members at Commission X all
realized how important this bill was for the sports community in
Indonesia.

"Therefore, we promise to do our best to pass the bill into
law," he said.

Indonesia's sports community has been looking for the
enactment of the sports law with the hopes that Indonesia can
enhance its competitiveness in international sports as well as
ensure athletes' welfare.

The bill was first conceived in the early 1980s and had not
been drafted until 20 years later. However, once it was drafted
in 2002, it stagnated, due to Megawati's lukewarm response to the
bill.

Meanwhile, KONI's secretary-general Djohar Arifin said that he
was satisfied with the result of the hearing session at the House
and he said he felt optimistic with the prospects of the sports
bill deliberation.

"After a long period, we hope this time, the sports bill can
be passed into law for real, especially with the help of our new
sports minister," Djohar said.

The newly appointed State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs
Adhyaksa Dault earlier said that he planned to propose the bill
for deliberation within the first 100 days of President Susilo
Bambang Yudoyono's Cabinet.

Apart from deliberations on the sports bill, the hearing with
the House members also shed light on the issue of funding for
Indonesia's involvement in international events during 2005.

There are four big international events that Indonesian
athletes must participate next year -- the South East Asian (SEA)
Games in the Philippines, Asian Indoor Games in Bangkok, Islamic
Solidarity event in Saudi Arabia and Muslim Women Sports in Iran.

To accommodate all four events, KONI, according to Djohar,
will need at least Rp 200 billion (US$22 million). Half of the
amount will be allocated to daily operational costs while the
other half will cover the expense of athletes' participation in
the events.

The SEA Games commitment is expected to absorb three-fourths
of the amount, which means a rise from last year's SEA Games
where KONI spent Rp 80 billion.

"We need to submit a budget proposal immediately to Commission
X and they have promised to help us in solving the funding
programs that have been a constant problem for KONI," Djohar
said.