TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has ascertained that he would buy the shares of PT Persija Jaya Jakarta, the capital’s official soccer club vying in the Indonesia Super League (ISL).
“Well, if they want us to buy their shares, give us 20 percent first,” he said at the City Hall on Thursday, February 5, 2015.
Ahok, however, asked Persija to collect data on all of its assets, including its intangible assets, such as goodwill, which among others encompassed trademark, copyright, patent, and organizational expenditures. “We asked for the goodwill before we buy it,” Ahok said.
The former Belitung regent said he wanted the Jakarta administration to get something in return after purchasing Persija. “The Jakarta administration’s name has to be in the goodwill. If we already get 20 percent, then we will buy the rest 80 percent,” Ahok said.
Persija is one of the nation’s soccer clubs grappling with paying off its players’ and coaches’ salaries in arrears since last year’s season—subjecting the club, nicknamed “The Kemayoran Tigers”, to a sanction by PT Liga Indonesia as the competition’s operator.
The unpaid salaries amount to Rp1.8 trillion and Persija has only until February 13, 2015 to settle its debt.
ERWAN HERMAWAN
