Sports council calls for talk on lottery plan

JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council invited the Indonesian Consumers Foundation and media representatives yesterday to a talk on Thursday on its planned lottery to raise funds for sports.

Council secretary-general Rudolf Warouw said the council's executives hoped to swap ideas with their guests during the meeting, the first official public presentation of the proposal since its introduction almost two weeks ago.

"We will explain everything about the fund-raising proposal, while asking for advice on ways to improve it," Warouw said.

The council plans to consult other social organizations following Thursday's meeting since it believed the public has yet to become well informed about the proposal.

"It's better for the public to give us advice, instead of hasty condemnations. We expect fairer judgment on the proposal, because basically each of us agrees that national sports need huge funds," Warouw said as quoted by Antara.

The fund-raising plan has sparked controversy centered on fears that it would encourage gambling as has happened in the past. Under the proposal, the council would target Rp 100 billion (US$7 million) of annual revenue from coupons which would be sold for Rp 5,000 each.

Half of the income would be used to provide prizes, and only 30 percent would go to finance sports development. The remaining 20 percent would be split between the council and the Ministry of Social Services, which is authorized to issue the license for the lottery.

Warouw said that even though the proposal had received government approval, it would take it between three and six months before it could begin.

"We have to arrange the revenue sharing among the sports organizations under the council's auspices," he said, adding that sports bodies which sanction regular competitions deserve a greater portion than others.

He promised that funds raised from the lottery would be managed transparently and professionally. An American consultant is expected to be involved in the program.

In Dili, State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Agung Laksono said the government deemed the lottery a realistic means to raise funds for sports development, but insisted that it was not the only way.

"No one knows whether the program will yield profits because it is a philanthropic, not mandatory, scheme," Agung told reporters during his visit to the East Timor capital.

"This program requires millions of rupiah in investment, while the organizers must ensure lottery winners will earn the prizes as promised," he added.

Buyers will win the prizes if their coupons contain at least three identical sports logos.

Agung said that public participation in financing national sports was a must because the government alone could not afford to provide such a huge amount of money for the sports council.

"Let's not dream of helping our athletes reach great heights in international forums without having to spend a lot of money," Agung said. (amd)