SEA Games consortium agrees debt repayment
JAKARTA (JP): The 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games underwriting consortium will pay its debts over the next two years, starting next month, State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Agung Laksono said on Friday.
Agung told a media conference after a meeting with consortium representative Bambang Yoga Soegama that the group of business heavyweights agreed to hand over the case to the police and the Attorney General's Office if they failed to pay off the debts.
"They (the consortium) have approved of a legal settlement if they fail to pay their debts," Agung said.
Consortium boss Bambang Trihatmodjo, one of former president Soeharto's sons, was called to attend the meeting but did not show up due to "unavoidable business appointments."
Bambang Yoga escaped a media barrage as he left Agung's office via the emergency stairs. His absence from the media conference left the biggest question, how the consortium intends to pay the whopping debt, unanswered.
The consortium owes Rp 11 billion (US$1 million) to the Gelora Senayan Management Board, the Jatiluhur water reservoir authorities and hotels which accommodated participating athletes during the SEA Games last October.
It also used Rp 35 billion of the reforestation fund reserved for use by the Ministry of Forestry. The ministry set the interest rate at 15 percent per annum.
Agung dismissed allegations that the government fund had been swindled.
"The fund was disbursed to cover training expenses of our athletes selected for the Games. Not one cent of the money went to their personal accounts," Agung said.
In its audited report, the consortium unveiled a Rp 68 billion financial loss. It borrowed Rp 23 billion from Bank Artha Graha to ease the deficit.
Earlier in the day, the Association of Indonesian Wood Panel Producers (Apkindo) handed over a Rp 3 billion grant to help the National Sports Council cover the air tickets of the 119-strong national team bound for the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in December.
Apkindo chairman Abbas Adhar said the association originally pledged a Rp 2 billion donation, but agreed to provide another Rp 1 billion on Friday after learning of the financial problems faced by the sports council.
The council's official in charge of planning and budgeting, Sudharno, said the government would disburse its commitment of Rp 5.5 billion in November. He said Rp 3 billion of the state funds would be used to finance the centralized training program which started early this month, while the rest would be used to cover the athletes' transportation to Bangkok. (yan)