Sport Minister says no easy solution for lack of funds
JAKARTA (JP): While the prohibition of an unpopular lottery continues to hinder national sports development, State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman encourages organizers to independently seek financial assistance for the preparation for the 12th Asian Games in Hiroshima this October.
"We have to be creative and innovative in our efforts to acquire funding," Hayono said during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) here yesterday.
Indonesia plans to send 150 athletes in 15 events for the Asian Games in Hirosima. The entire budget for the preparation had been set at Rp 3 billion (US$1.4 million).
The Asiad will feature 34 sports.
The government banned the state-sponsored lottery (SDSB), a usual source of funding for the country's sports activities, after facing intense political opposition last year.
The lottery was particularly disliked by the country's Moslem establishment.
More than 85 percent of Indonesia,'s 182 million people are Moslems.
On the other hand, according to what Hayono once said last year, the country requires Rp 36 billion annually to develop sports.
SDSB, a lottery popular among the poor, had contributed about Rp 95 billion for a five year period for this country's sport development.
The organizers of SDSB consisted of politically connected businessmen who donated Rp 42 billion in 1991, Rp 36 billion in 1992 and more than Rp 44 billion last year.
The lottery also put Rp 3.5 billion towards Indonesia's participation in the previous Asian Games in Beijing four years ago. The country was involved in 21 sports at that event.
Cancel
The situations changed drastically once the SDSB well was dried up.
Several sports organizations, especially those which the public are indifferent to, have been forced to cancel their try- out plans prior to the Hirosima event.
The latest victim of the shortage of funds is archery, the sport which awarded Indonesia its first medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after the women's team grabbed the silver.
Udi Harsono, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Archery Association, was quoted by Antara yesterday that the country's archers could not leave to South Korea for try-outs due to financial constraints.
Last week the Indonesian Rowing Association also stated that the same factor had prevented them for touring the Netherlands this summer.
Only popular sports such as track and field and badminton receive the patronage of this country's tycoons.
At the end of yesterday's hearing, Soeweno, the chairman of the National Sports Committee (KONI), told the Jakarta Post that "(the) funds are not the most important thing".
"What really counts is the athletes' performances in the training camps," he said.
In the meantime, Hayono told newsmen that his office is "working very hard to find solutions."
"It is unfortunate that our efforts can only bear fruits next year," the minister said apologetically.
"This is why we must utilize our nationalism as our main asset for Hirosima," he said. (hdj/amd)