SEA Games Consortium may seek bank loan

JAKARTA (JP): The 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games consortium will probably ask for a bank loan to stage the Games and groom athletes for the biennial event which will be held here in October.

The consortium's chairman, Bambang Trihatmodjo, said yesterday that by the end of next month, the consortium would probably report to the President on its ability to raise the funds.

"We'll still try our best. But if we really cannot do it, we'll report to the government. Just wait and see until the end of next month," he said.

"We only have two months left. If we can't raise the funds soon, everything will be in such a mess," he said.

The House of Representatives has urged the consortium to get a Rp 50 billion bank loan.

The House also urged the consortium to report to President Soeharto about its inability to raise the funds.

The consortium has collected Rp 3.7 billion from the sale 17,750,000 SEA Games stickers, which cost between Rp 1,000 and Rp 50,000 each.

The amount is well short of the Rp 35 billion target, although another Rp 3 billion is expected soon.

Bambang urged the government not to limit the sale of stickers.

The consortium can only sell the stickers through the state- owned electricity company PLN, PT Telkom and PT Angkasapura.

"The most important thing is that we don't burden poor people," he said.

Bambang also urged the government to allow the stickers to be sold for longer in order to pay back any bank loans.

"If we borrow the money, we have to extend the sticker sales after the SEA Games until we can pay our debts," he said.

Earlier, National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar said sticker sales would probably continue until after the SEA Games.

"We can sell stickers or other SEA Games products after the event because many people still want to help." he said.

He said he was not sure if enough money could be collected in time for the Games.

Wismoyo refused to report to the President on the funding problems.

"No, I don't want to. I will try harder to fulfill my responsibility. I'll be ashamed if I can't do what my President has ordered," he said. (yan)