Sports body gets only Rp 2b for Asiad
JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar said the National Development Planning Board only allocated Rp 2 billion (US$350,880) for the country's 13th Asian Games from its original budget of Rp 10 billion.
Wismoyo declined to say Friday whether the Rp 2 billion would be enough for preparations of the Asiad.
The council's secretary-general, Rudolf S. Warouw, said the budget would only be enough to finance athletes' and officials' transportation and accommodation during the quadrennial event.
"Asiad organizers have proposed to charge $60 per athlete per day, but the figure has yet to be decided by Olympic Committee Asia," he said.
At the 19th SEA Games in October 1997, the organizers only charged $30 per athlete per day.
Warouw said the council had presented the Asiad budget plan before planning board chairman Ginandjar Kartasasmita and said the total budget needed was Rp 15 billion.
"But Pak Ginandjar asked the council to revise the budget plan because some sports organizations were considered capable of financing themselves, including swimming, gymnastics and track and field associations," he said.
Decentralized
Earlier, council vice chairman Arie Sudewo said the diminished budget could be solved by the willingness of some sports organizations and provinces to stage decentralized training programs.
"Jakarta, East Java and Central Java have agreed to stage the decentralized training of some sports in their provinces. Only West Java has yet to agree to participate in the program," he said.
However, Arie would not mention the budget needed to stage decentralized training, which would be financed by each province, the council or from the state budget.
Warouw said Asiad organizers had announced the number of medals at the event.
"There will be 377 golds, 377 silvers and 460 bronzes. The council will call the 21 sports organizations Monday to discuss the event," he was quoted by Kompas as saying.
The council announced the 22 events to take place at the Asiad in Bangkok in December. They are track and field, badminton, boxing, rowing and canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, soccer, gymnastics, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, volleyball, weight lifting, wrestling, wushu and yachting.
"We must send our athletes, who have attained international achievements, to compete in the Asiad. But the athletes from the 22 sports can also be dropped if they cannot show better form during the training program," Warouw said.
Consortium
Separately, 19th SEA Games consortium spokesperson I Gusti Ayu Sandrini said the consortium would announce its auditing report next week, which was two weeks later than its plan to announce it Dec. 31.
Ayu said the postponement was due to some consortium officials having year-end holidays.
"I hope the public will be patient because we still have to cross-check the financial audit report," she said.
"We also have to check with the sticker sales about the amount reported to us," she added.
Ayu said some sponsors had only paid half of what they pledged to the consortium.
The consortium received Rp 20 billion in pledges from five major sponsors: Konica, Tiger Beer, Nikon, Aqua and Panasonic.
Ayu said the consortium still owed Rp 15 billion for sports equipment and athletes' accommodations.
Antara reported that the consortium had to collect Rp 105 billion to stage the Games here last October. The fund-raising was from sticker sales to the public who paid electricity, telephone and water bills, and those who flew by airplane. The deadline of fund-raising was Dec. 31. (yan)