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