W

hile expecting to win more medals that it did two years ago, the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) is set to send 250 athletes - far less than the usual number - to the 25th Southeast Asian Games, in Laos in December.

National training chief Djoko Pramono said the list of the 250 athletes would be revealed on Oct. 1.

"We usually send around 450 athletes, so the current number of athletes and officials are hard pressed," Djoko told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The Indonesian team will need some Rp 19.5 billion in financial support, Djoko said.

"The government has allocated Rp 20 billion to KOI to send athletes to five international sporting events this year," he said.

The five events are Asian Martial Arts Championships in Bangkok in July, the Paragames in Malaysia in August, the Islamic Solidarity Games in Iran, the Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi in November and the Laos Games in December.

According to recent news reports, the Islamic Solidarity Games were postponed until April next year based on H1N1 flu fears.

The postponement means KOI's funding for the Laos event will increase from Rp 12.5 billion to Rp 14.5 billion. "We need an extra Rp 5 billion to cover the shortage *in funding*," Djoko said.

"How will we get this money? We will definitely ask for help from the sports minister. But KOI will turn to other sources, maybe including *corporate* sponsors," said Djoko, who chairs the KOI Olympics Solidarity group.

Indonesia, which once dominated the games, finished fourth in the medal tally with 56 gold medals in the last SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, in 2007.

Indonesia made it's greatest achievement when it hosted the Games in 1997, with 198 gold medals. At that time, the team comprised 574 athletes.

That was the last time Indonesia proved its superiority in the biennial sporting showcase among the Southeast Asian countries.

Besides the National Olympic Council (KONI), the State Ministry for Youth and Sports Affairs is also holding a training program called the Top-tier Athletic Program (PAL).

Minister Adhyaksa Dault said Indonesia could win 56 gold medals in Laos. While referring to it as KOI's privilege, the minister questioned KOI's plan to send 250 athletes.

"Why should we send so many contingents? Let's stick to the *trend to win' plan," he said, adding that 56 of the athletes from the PAL program would stand good chances of winning gold.