Soeharto to decide on SEA village
JAKARTA (JP): The organizing committee of the 19th Southeast Asian Games is scheduled to meet President Soeharto today to report on the preparations for the biennial event to be held here next year.
Chairman of the National Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar, who is also executive director of the organizers, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas, chairman of the patron board, and State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman, the board's executive director, will report on all aspects of the preparations but are expected to focus on the issue of the athletes village.
Bambang Sugomo, a member of the SEA Games consortium and also the committee's deputy official for housing, told reporters yesterday after a meeting with Wismoyo, that the decision on the construction of the village will be made by the President today.
The underwriting consortium of the Games, which is chaired by Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo, has yet to receive a permit from the city administration to start the project, which it wants to build on a four-hectare lot formerly used as a shooting range at the Senayan sports complex in Central Jakarta.
However the administration said that it has not seen the proposal, containing blueprints of the complex which would include 1,000 rooms.
The project, which would accommodate some 7,000 athletes and officials from Southeast Asia's 10 countries, is expected to take 10 months to complete and would cost between US$60 million and $70 million.
Permit
Wismoyo said that if the consortium receives the permit by the end of this month, it should be able to finish the construction on schedule.
"We have national construction experts working for us who say they are able to finish the project before the deadline.
"But if the consortium receives the permit after October, I think it will be too late," he added.
Wismoyo expressed the hope that the village will continue to function as accommodation for athletes after the Games.
"It's not only a temporary answer for the need but it must be a solution for the village problem," he added.
Wismoyo said that the organizers will also report on the Games' mascot and logo. The mascot is Hanoman, a white half monkey, half human knight from the Ramayana mythology, which symbolizes a never-say-die spirit.
Wismoyo pointed out that the organizers should learn a lesson from the last National Games, at which there were few spectators.
"Events should be scheduled conveniently so people won't have to leave before the matches are over.
"And if there are night matches, the organizers should provide more lights," he added.
He also urged the organizers to combine sports and entertainment.
"We could have bands near the stadia so the public still have something to watch between events," he said.
Since most spectators come from the lower classes, the organizers should provide facilities for them, especially transportation.
"If necessary, the organizers should provide free transportation," Wismoyo said.
Indonesia will play host to the regional sporting meet for the third time since 1979. The sports council has set a target of restoring Indonesia's pride after an upset rout in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year. (yan)