TEMPO.CO, Palembang - Despite the success of the Islamic Solidarity Games III in Palembang, the organizing committee is overshadowed by fear of being investigated by related law enforcement.
A Tempo source at the ISG III committee said that the concern is linked to the state budget (APBN) and regional budget (APBD) fund to finance the sporting event. The approximately US$11 million fund, he said, belonged to the people and had to be held accountable. The organizer didn't feel like they had the legal umbrella regarding their appointment as the event's procurer of goods and services.
"We are still hoping for the issuance of a Presidential Decree (Perpres) about the direct appointment, instead of just assistance (the assistance team that supervised the procurement)," said the source.
The source also stated that the organizing committee is worried that they will have to deal with law enforcers in the future because there are still questions about the committee's accountability. “(The committee) is afraid that; after all the effort, then have to go to jail,”
Early on, Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo ensured that the committee can sleep well after the ISG closing ceremony, as the assistance team--which was formed by the government--can be used as a legal basis to report the use of state funds.
A presidential decree, he said, is unlikely to be issued because the President wouldn't want to contradict the regulations he made himself. Roy said that this has become a habit for certain people to hide behind decrees.
In result, there are a lot of unaccounted expenditures from passed events. "This habit has to go away. Even the fund for the 2011 SEA Games remains unaccounted for," Roy said.
PARLIZA HENDRAWAN
