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Jakarta Post

MF Siregar passes on his golden legacy to sport development

Indonesian sports guru Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, 81, passed away on Sunday at 2 p

The Jakarta Post
Mon, October 4, 2010

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MF Siregar passes on his golden legacy to sport development

I

ndonesian sports guru Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, 81, passed away on Sunday at 2 p.m. after being hospitalized for a month suffering organ failures. He is survived by his five children.

Siregar’s remains will be buried at Petamburan Cemetery, likely on Tuesday, pending the arrival of his eldest daughter, Lisa Farida, from California.

Siregar — who dedicated six decades of his life to sports development — was the architect behind Indonesia’s glory at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

His ideas have been implemented in various national sports development programs and have helped Indonesia excel at an international level.

Susy Susanti, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, dedicated her gold medal to Siregar, who had been banned by doctors from watching the match because of his heart illness.

“At that time I had only thought of fighting my hardest for opa [‘grandpa’, as Siregar was familiarly known].”

Siregar was also behind Indonesia’s success at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Since it first took part in the biennial event in 1977, Indonesia has only bowed down twice to host Thailand in 1985 and 1995. Siregar remembered how then president Soeharto had been very upset at the result.

“If you knew that we might have lost, why didn’t you do anything to prevent it,” Siregar said quoting Soeharto. Later on, Soeharto issued a Presidential Instruction and ordered all ministers help in the preparations for the 1987 SEA Games.

Siregar, born on Nov. 11, 1928, had always loved sports. During his youth, his only dream was to play soccer at the Vios soccer field, now Menteng Park, and to swim at Manggarai swimming pool — both were for Dutch residents only. He was very proud of his success in holding a swimming competition at the Manggarai pool, despite the ban there which read “natives/dogs forbidden.”

His dedication earned him an honorary doctorate from the Jakarta State University and the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee.

Before being taken to Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Aug. 30, Siregar was still writing on what the government should do to develop sports. He suggested learning from the United States where parents monitor their children’s physical activities
from birth.

His final dream was to introduce sporting values — responsibility, discipline and fairness — into other aspects of people’s lives.

“If those values are implemented, [the older generation] can leave this nation peacefully because the next generation will be tough, disciplined, hard-working and peaceful.  Siregar said. — JP

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