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arch 5, Online

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday he was deeply concerned over Indonesia’s humiliating 10-0 loss to Bahrain in last week’s World Cup qualifying match, which he said had been linked to the prolonged conflicts within the Indonesia Soccer Association (PSSI).

 “Look at the young Garuda, who won last night. We actually have potential youngsters. But, after the loss to Bahrain, I immediately looked for information on what had been going on in our soccer world,” the President told journalists at the State Palace.

 Yudhoyono was referring to the Indonesia U-21 national team’s 3-0 victory over the Philippines in the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy match in Brunei Darussalam on Sunday night.

“While the people are actually enjoying the rebound of our sports achievements in the last SEA Games, they have been burdened with bad news concerning protracted conflicts and infighting. I’m telling you, please don’t ignore the voice of the people for your own interests,” Yudhoyono said.

Your comments:

Indonesia has a strong habit for competition and fighting is one level higher than competing.

Unfortunately, Indonesians usually lose when competing against external parties.

Hence, to maintain the strong competition, Indonesians compete internally each other. Racing on public roads is another example.

Suri Adnyana
Jakarta

Dear Mr. President, it seems that you care more about football than the plight of Christians in the Yasmin Church.

You care for what you care about, not the Indonesian people.

Anto
Menteng

Just eat your ego Djohar. If you did not pull out players playing for the LSI, our team would not have been tortured by Bahrain.

Dadang Zaggur Novianto
Ciamis, West Java

Dear Mr. President. What goes on in “our soccer world” is exactly the same as what is going on in our political world.

In the final analysis, it is only money that counts, nothing else.

Sportsmanship is not in our country’s vocabulary as sportsmen/women are enticed to win by large sums of money.

Honor in receiving a medal is not good enough. Then there is the poor state, or non-existence, of sports infrastructure, especially outside the larger cities. We have a large population with a great potential among our youth to excel in sports. However, they are not given a chance.

Sports are not promoted nor in the curriculum of our schools. Why not make this important part of schooling our young in a more prominent aspect of the curriculum?

Why not encourage sports on a national basis. The Indonesian National Sports Committee cannot do the job, as has been proven over the years as it is run by those only interested in a cushy job and money. Make changes.

Otherwise, we will lose the next match against Bahrain by 20-0.

Henry Manoe
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Djohar Arifin is a destroyer of the Indonesian Soccer Association.

Lisnamulyani
Jakarta

If both parties began at the same time, Bahrain was already leading 10-0 and qualifying for the next round when Qatar scored their second goal and equalizer, launching them to the next round.

And the Iranian defense and the goalkeeper didn’t move a lot to get the ball away.

Bona
Jakarta