As many as 14.6 percent of respondents said it was necessary to make a special law that ensured the welfare of athletes and former athletes.
By
AGUSTINA PURWANTI
·3 minutes read
Kompas/Priyombodo
Mixed doubles badminton coach, Richard Mainaky, trains at the PBSI Cipayung National Training Center, East Jakarta, June 6, 2017. Richard decided to retire as a national training coach on September 27, 2021.
Not only the athletes, but also the general public are waiting for the government initiative on improvements to athlete welfare. The public feels that providing a job, old-age allowance and legal certainty are keys to improving the welfare of the country’s athletes. This expectation is reflected in the results of a survey that the Kompas daily conducted on 7-10 Sept. 2021.
Three out of 10 respondents in the survey said that providing employment should be a government priority in improving athlete welfare, because athletes’ incomes were relatively small and mostly earned through seasonal competitions.
In fact, a separate online survey specifically on athletes and former athletes Kompas conducted found that some athletes did not receive a government allowance (12.4 percent). Others (14.5 percent) received an allowance only when they had excelled in major sports events.
In such situations, many athletes still earned a living from other sources, for example by selling meatballs or working as an ojek (motorcycle taxi driver).
Pension plan
In addition to job security, the public also saw a need to improve old-age social security for athletes (23.6 percent of respondents).
In 2005, officials from the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI) proposed the provision of old-age allowance for athletes. The proposal has been sufficiently accommodated by Law No. 3/2005 on the National Sports System (UU SKN). The law states that old-age insurance is a form of appreciation for outstanding athletes.
After nine years, the provision on old-age allowance for athletes was ratified in Presidential Regulation No. 44/2014 on granting sports awards. In line with the proposal, old-age allowance is given only to high-achieving athletes. The criteria are also relatively strict, such as winning at least three times at the international or the national level.
Kompas
Badminton player Taufik Hidayat, while practicing at the PBSI badminton training center in Cipayung, East Jakarta, Thursday (26/1/2012). In 2014, Taufik voiced the importance of old-age allowance for national athletes.
However, this goodwill was not realized until badminton athlete Taufik Hidayat in 2014 again voiced the importance of old-age allowance for national athletes.
Old-age allowance was finally given to athletes for the first time in 2016. According to Kompas’ records, old-age allowance has been given to Olympic and Paralympic medal winners since the Seoul 1988 Games. As many as 37 athletes have received the allowance. Gold medalists, for example, receive Rp 20 million per month, silver medalists get Rp 15 million per month, and bronze medalists get Rp 10 million per month. The old-age allowance is funded by the state budget.
Unfortunately, 2016 was the first and last time that old-age allowance was given. Starting in 2017, old-age allowance was no longer provided because according to a Finance Ministry regulation, old-age allowance is given only to civil servants (ASN).
Breakthrough
Perhaps this is why a quarter of the survey respondents suggested that all athletes and former athletes be given civil servant status to improve their welfare.
In fact, as many as 14.6 percent of respondents said it was necessary to make a special law that ensured the welfare of athletes and former athletes. Meanwhile, 12.3 percent of respondents said the government needed to set up an endowment fund for athletes and former athletes. So far, only badminton has an endowment fund that is used only for social purposes.
These issues show that awarding big bonuses to athletes who won medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is contrary to the general condition of athletes and former athletes. (KOMPAS R&D)
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.)
