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)