SEA Games in question due to SARS outbreak

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Sports Council (KONI) is monitoring developments in the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and will wait until September to decide whether to send athletes to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games scheduled for this December in Vietnam.

"We will see how SARS develops and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s account of the disease. Is Vietnam already free of SARS?

"We (member countries) may wait until September when we are supposed to make a final evaluation of whether the Games should go ahead, be canceled or be moved to another country," KONI secretary-general Oyong Karmayudha said here on Tuesday.

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Vietnam decided to cancel the SEA Games federation executive committee meeting, which was scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

Thailand had already announced it would not attend the meeting and there is speculation that the cancellation was prompted by the SARS scare.

Oyong brushed aside such speculation, saying the cancellation had nothing to do with SARS.

However, he failed to provide any reason for the cancellation.

"I don't know. The letter does not cite any reason," Oyong told The Jakarta Post, referring to a letter from Vietnam's NOC.

Despite the cancellation of the executive committee meeting, a meeting of national sports councils will go ahead as scheduled the following Friday, Oyong said.

"We received a letter this morning about the cancellation of the executive committee meeting and another one the following afternoon informing us that the council meeting would proceed," he said.

The executive committee meeting, which KONI's head of supervision and finances Indra Kartasasmita was to have attended, was going to discuss the number of events at the Games. The results of the meeting were to have been presented during the council meeting.

"The organizers may be looking to have the issue discussed at just one meeting," said Oyong, who will attend the council meeting.

Asked what issues he was going to bring to the meeting, Oyong said he first had to meet with Djoko Pramono, the head of the national training program for the SEA Games.

"We want to pass along the wish of some sports officials here to have the classes of their sports increased.

"But we cannot yet say which sports want the increase. Wait until we meet with Pak Djoko tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.