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)