Wismoyo new chairman of Sports Council

Wismoyo new chairman of Sports Council

JAKARTA (JP): As had been expected, Army Chief of Staff Wismoyo
Arismunandar was last night unanimously elected the chairman of the
National Sports Council (KONI).

Seated between Surono, whom he replaces, and Azwar Anas, the
chairman of the All Indonesia Football Federation, Wismoyo,
speaking in a pensive mood, said that "chairing KONI is a difficult
task but since I have accepted it, I will carry it out with all
responsibility."

A throng of congress members packed the Senayan indoor
stadium, the venue for the three-day meeting, struggling to see
Wismoyo close up.

Wismoyo has also accepted the chairmanship of KONI's electoral
board, which has 30 days to choose KONI's other officials. Wismoyo
must first choose the other two members of the electoral board, one
of whom will represent KONI's 27 provincial chapters, while the
other will represent the 50 sports and sports-related organizations
under KONI supervision.

After the handing over ceremony, outgoing chairman Surono said
he believed that under Wismoyo's leadership KONI would be able to
face the serious challenges with which Indonesian sports will be
confronted in the years to come.

"Today's tougher challenges in sports demand greater
dedication and fighting spirit," Surono said.

Apart from Wismoyo's election, which closed KONI's seventh
national congress yesterday, the congress agreed that a total of Rp
120 billion (US$54.4 million) would be needed to finance KONI's
activities during Wismoyo's tenure, which will last for four years.

To supplement government support KONI will again rely on a
foundation which receives donations from anonymous tycoons, known
as Yayasan Gerakan 45 Olahraga.

The congress also decided to ask for a tax exemption on costs
incurred in organizing sports activities, to offer tax discounts to
companies which support KONI and to ask the government to introduce
a special tax on the sale of certain goods, the proceeds of which
would be passed on to the sporting body. "For instance, we might
get Rp 1 from the sale of each battery produced by a certain
company," said H.J. Andries, who chaired the congress' commission
on finances.

Andries said KONI's new funding strategy had been necessitated
by the government's decision, in November 1993, to discontinue the
state-sponsored lottery on which the organisation had previously
relied for funds. During 1994 many provincial chapters suffered
from a lack of funds as a consequence of the lottery's
discontinuation.

Provincial chapters as well as sports organizations under KONI
had in former years been entitled to a certain portion of the sales
of the state lottery tickets. They used to spend the money on
training athletes and improving sports facilities.

KONI received Rp 13.8 billion from the lottery to finance
Indonesia's participation in the 17th Southeast Asian Games in
Singapore in 1993. Following the death of the lottery, KONI had to
turn to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and to sponsors
for financial aid, and even then was able to raise the
comparatively low sum of Rp 2.8 billion to finance the country's
participation in the Asian Games in Hiroshima last year.

Though some provincial representatives expressed objections,
the congress finally decided to bring forward the 14th National
Games to 1996 from 1997, in view of the fact that Indonesia's next
general election is scheduled for the latter year.

The congress resolved to maintain the current organizational
structure, which does not completely separate the Indonesian
Olympic Committee from KONI.

A decision was also reached on the question of athletes who
want to represent provinces other than their own at the next
National Games. Such athletes must obtain approval from both their
home province and from their local KONI chapter. They are also
obliged to have moved to and resided in the new province for at
least one year.

This ruling was designed to prevent the growing incidence of
athlete headhunting in other provinces. (arf)