The World Cup: An irony

The World Cup: An irony

From Republika

To Indonesians, the 1998 World Cup soccer matches could at least comfort them as entertainment during the ongoing economic crisis. Soccer enthusiasts should thank all the country's television stations, private and state, for airing reports of the events live or otherwise. Even the print media seemed to be competing with one another to keep their readers abreast of what went on in the championship by devoting special World Cup space. In short, the World Cup was a "festivity" to virtually everybody.

Unfortunately, this "festivity" was an irony indeed because at the same time, our fellow countrymen in remote places of the country are starving as they can no longer afford to buy rice. In the Gunung Kidul area, for example, some local people have started eating dried cassava, locally called gaplek, because they can no longer afford to buy rice. In other remote areas, women for whom milk is now unaffordable simply give their babies air tajin, thick water made from cooked rice, as a milk substitute.

On the other hand, soccer enthusiasts freely spent their money just to satisfy their desires. Pak Samsuri, for example, readily parted with Rp 250,000 just to buy his son the outfit of one of the squads participating in the World Cup. (Kompas, June 16, 1998). Many more soccer fans forked out handsome amounts of money simply to collect items related to the World Cup in particular and soccer in general. They seemed to turn a blind eye to problems now confronting the entire Indonesian population.

So, this is one of the hazards which may be brought about by lahwun munadldlomun, organized games and entertainment. Some games have been managed in such a way that they demand full professionalism on the part of those involved. Branches of sports of this type have become centers of activities and attention to young and old in this country. The activities related to these branches of sports and the attention devoted to them have led to the emergence of individualism and have turned the attention of people away from their problems. In the name of professionalism, lahwun munadldlomun is a commodity no less attractive than other commodities in completing the avarice of capitalism. John Hergreaves has concluded that "sport is a mirror of a microcosm of modern capitalist society, an integral part of the system of class domination and exploitation" (Republika, June 20, 1998).

DADANG SUPRIYANTO

Bandung