By: Rebecca Marian) *
Papua finally got its turn to hold a PON XX in 2020. For the people of Papua, of course this is a pride, because previously never given the opportunity to hold a national sporting event. President Soekarno had planned to hold a PON in Papua, but the discourse failed because his position was replaced by Soeharto.Thus, the convening of PON XX in Papua needed mutual support.
The consequence of holding Papua PON 2020 is the cost that is too expensive. Geographical factors make costs rise compared to other regions. Since the reform era, the cost of the PON event has been imposed on the regional budget, little of the state budget has been absorbed. In PON 2016, money from the central government was around Rp130 billion. All PON loads are in the hands of the region. For Papua, this burden will certainly increase.
Papua Governor, Luke Enembe, said that PON 2020 will require around Rp. 10-15-15 trillion. In PON XIX 2016, the Governor of West Java, Ahmad Heryawan claimed that the West Java Provincial Budget was used for a total of more than IDR 3 trillion. However, the policy of the Government of the Province of Papua for the implementation of XX PON will disburse funds totaling Rp.2 trillion. The amount of the budget comes from the 2020 budget change.
PON XX Papua will be held on October 20 until November 2, 2020. The national sporting party was decided to roll out 37 sports which were planned to be participated in by 47 sports. However, through various considerations Kempora-KONI cut into 37 sports namely aerosport, aquatic, fencing, weight lifting, athletics, baseball, motorized, billiards, basketball, handball, volleyball, badminton, chess, cricket, rowing, wrestling, hoky, judo, karate, kempo, screen, shooting, muaythai, archery, rock climbing, pencak silat, rugby, diving, gymnastics, soccer, soccer takraw, roller skates, taekwondo, drajat fighting, tennis, boxing, wushu.
PON XX in Papua is important, because so far development in Papua is still lagging behind and there are still those who view the marginal Papuan community, or at number two right. PON XX is the right momentum for the Indonesian people to accelerate equitable development in Papua. In addition, the creative economy can grow, the world of tourism is alive and increasingly moving the movement of goods and services in Papua
Infrastructure development and facilities of sports branches in various regional points, of course, will be followed by other basic infrastructure development support, which will support the development of the Papua region, such as housing, roads and bridges, clean water networks, electricity and telecommunications as well as arranged green open spaces .
This PON XX will further strengthen social solidarity among the nation’s children from various provinces, as well as social solidarity in the internal population of Papua, which now amounts to around 3.5 million people,
PON XX in Papua is also a place to find talent for new athletes who have extraordinary abilities so that they can be relied on by Indonesians in international tournaments. For this reason, it is important for all Indonesian people to support the implementation of XX PON in Papua.
) * The writer is a Papuan student living in Jakarta