Thursday, December 15, 2011 14:44 PM
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Surakarta mayor complains of Games’ lack of promotion
Agnes Winarti and Kusumasari Ayuningtyas, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Jakarta | Thu, 12/15/2011 10:17 AM
Torch bearer: Bolo Triono, a disabled runner from Central Java, carries the torch of the Southeast Asian Para Games. Bolo and others carried the torch from Mrapen in Grobogan, Central Java, to Surakarta, on Wednesday. Antara/R. RekotomoOne day prior to the official opening of the 6th ASEAN Para Games, Surakarta Mayor Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo regretted the lack of promotional activities for the biennial Games designed for athletes with physical disabilities. Despite declaring that the city is ready to host the Games, the hype of the ASEAN Para Games event is lacking the prestige of last month’s SEA Games, the mayor said on Wednesday as quoted by Antara.
He highlighted that the central government was fully responsible for the promotional activities for the ASEAN Para Games, as the Youth and Sports Ministry was in charge of organizing the event.
Financial allocations for the Para Games include Rp 4 billion for the opening ceremony, Rp 7 billion for the organizing committee’s secretariat, Rp 50 billion for the renovation of the Donohudan athletes’ village and transportation facilities -- all of which were disbursed from the 2011 state budget -- plus an additional Rp 10 billion from the 2011 revised state budget.
The government also allocated the leftover Rp 26 billion from the SEA Games’ medalists’ bonus allocation for the Para Games’ medalists’ bonus.
The Indonesia ASEAN Para Games Organizing Committee’s (INASPOC) director, James Tangkudung, was not available for comment on Wednesday.
Joko even said the Para Games should have been held before the SEA Games so it was not over-shadowed by the latter event, at which Indonesia fulfilled its target of becoming the overall champions, despite the arguably chaotic organization of the Games.
Joko expects the Games to promote Surakarta as a friendly tourism destination. A city with a population of 503,421, Surakarta, also locally-known as Solo, has the famous Bengawan Solo River flowing through its eastern part.
The river was the source of inspiration for the country’s late keroncong maestro Gesang Martohartono, who in 1940 composed the internationally popular song “Bengawan Solo,” the lyrics of which have been translated into at least 13 languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Cambodian.
The 11 sports featured in the Para Games will take place at the Manahan Sports Complex (track-and-field, volleyball, tennis, and swimming), the Bengawan Sports Center (bowling), the Diamond Solo Convention Center (table tennis), the Sritex Arena (badminton), the Nyi Ageng Karang GOR (goal ball), the Sriwedari Stadium (archery), the Pendapi Balai Kota Surakarta (chess), and the Gedung Wanita (weight-lifting).
The Para Games will welcome a total of 1,265 athletes and officials from 11 countries, including the host’s 368 athletes and officials, Thailand with a squad of 296, Malaysia with 163, Vietnam 170, the Philippines 65, Myanmar 57, Singapore 52, Brunei 37, Cambodia 26, Timor Leste 21, and Laos 11.
Meanwhile, the torch for the 6th ASEAN Para Games arrived in Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday after being lit from the Mrapen eternal flame in Grobogan, also located in Central Java.
After passing through eight regencies and cities throughout Central Java, including Demak, Semarang, Salatiga, Boyolali, Sukoharjo, and Karanganyar, the torch was carried into Surakarta by Para Games torchbearer, former track-and-field athlete Bolo Triono, who won two golds at the 2005 ASEAN Para Games in Manila.
Around 700 dancers and dozens of the Keraton Surakarta Hadiningrat soldiers added to the festivities of the torch’s last one-kilometer journey before arriving at City Hall, where it was to stay for the night.
On Thursday, at the opening ceremony, the torch and its bearer, wall-climber Sabar Gorky, will be borne inside a Kencana carriage to light up the Para Games’ cauldron.
Vice President Boediono will officially open the Para Games, which will be guarded by 1,942 security personnel from the Army and National Police.
