Putting it briefly: Jakarta to replace Riau as ISG host

JAKARTA: The Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) will now be held in Jakarta from Sept. 22 to Oct. 1 due to several problems faced by the original host Riau.

According to Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo, he had to move the venue to the capital due to an ongoing dispute between the Riau administration and the venues'€™ management consortium. The administration still owes Rp 200 billion (US$20.62 million) to the consortium.

The sporting events, which had originally been scheduled for June 6-17, were also likely to coincide with the Riau regional election in September.

'€œRiau residents will focus their attention on the election,'€ Roy said on Monday as quoted by Antara news wire.

He added that Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, who is also the ISG organizing committee chairman, had been named a suspect in several graft cases by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and would not be able to continue his organizational tasks.

Therefore, Roy said, his ministry agreed with the suggestion from the organizers, the Indonesia Olympic Committee (KOI), the National Sports Council (KONI) and the Coordinating People'€™s Welfare Ministry to hold the Games in Jakarta.

The minister said he would soon contact Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to discuss the change of plan.