Tapornas scheme not gambling: Minister
Tapornas scheme not gambling: Minister
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono
Isman reiterated his full support of the new bank saving scheme
expected to be introduced to collect funds to finance national
sports activities.
"The bank savings is clearly different from the defunct
national lottery. The sports fund raising program is organized
solely by a bank. It has no agent nor broker," Hayono said during
his visit to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara yesterday.
"If we are not allowed to keep our money at that bank, we
should also be banned from having accounts in other banks," he
added.
Banks, either state-owned or private, which offer cash prizes
have become a trend in the country, in response to the
government's monetary policy to avoid capital flight.
President Soeharto gave a green light to the proposal to set
up a bank which is aimed at mobilizing funds from the public to
help develop national sports. The banking scheme will replace the
abolished government-backed national lottery SDSB.
Hayono asked the public not to hastily condemn the new saving
scheme as a form of gambling, saying that the proposal is being
thoroughly examined by his staff in cooperation with the Ministry
of Social Affairs, the Armed Forces headquarters and the
country's central bank, Bank Indonesia.
The savings plan, called Tapornas, will be a 12-month savings
scheme. It will provide monthly prizes totaling Rp 1.5 billion
(US$680,000), ranging from Rp 100,000 to Rp 700 million per
month.
The interest rate of the scheme will be set at between three
and five percent per annum, well below the medium market rate
which reaches over 12 percent.
Profits earned from the seven to nine percent interest
difference will be used to finance sports events for KONI, as
well as for paying the prizes.
The savings will be conducted by the state-owned BRI and all
12,000 post offices throughout the country.
"We expect to mobilize new customers, especially from the
lower class," Hayono was quoted by Antara as saying. (amd)