Indonesian Sports Will Lose Funding From State-Owned Enterprises

In Indonesia, while state-owned enterprises have been contributing funding to sports for a few years, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has learned through a ministerial decree that the companies "are not actually allowed to spend their corporate social responsibility budgets on sports," according to Ami Afriatni of the JAKARTA GLOBE. The decree "could mean further cuts" to the already under-funded sports programs in the country. Ministry senior official Djoko Pekik Irianto said, “We have learned that the corporate social responsibility budgets are not allowed to be spent on sports development." There were "approximately 40 companies supporting the sports federations, including Bank Mandiri, which contributed to the Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI); Garuda Indonesia, which partnered with the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti); and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which helped fund the Indonesian Karate-do Federation (Forki)" (JAKARTA GLOBE, 2/28).