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ew Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi pointed out the need to establish more interaction with athletes as part of his bid to lift the performance of national sports in the world.

'€œWhat is needed now is to boost interaction between the ministry and the young athletes, preparing them accordingly in raising their competitive spirit in order to follow the pace of globalization,'€ Imam said in his speech during a handover ceremony at the ministry office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said that the development of sporting technology and the nurturing of young talents would also receive his main attention for the next five years.

He promised to continue the program laid out by his predecessor, Roy Suryo.

'€œI will continue what he'€™s done,'€ he said while chuckling as he began his acceptance speech on Wednesday.

The former secretary-general of the National Awakening Party (PKB) described his vision in raising competitiveness among Indonesia'€™s young athletes in order to stimulate better performances in regional competitions such as the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

He has the daunting task of lifting Indonesia to a respectable position at the Asian Games the country will host in 2018. In Incheon 2014, Indonesia only brought home four gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals to finish in 17th position among 41 Asian countries.

At the SEA Games in Myanmar last year, Indonesia also lost ground, languishing in fourth place among 11 countries.

Roy Suryo reflected on his legacy by acknowledging his ministry'€™s failures during his one-year rule.

He described the difficulty in uniting the clashing Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) and the National Sports Council (KONI) as part of the reason why Indonesia did not perform as expected in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar and the 2014 Asian Games.

'€œOne of Pak Imam'€™s heaviest duties will be to unify our country'€™s largest stakeholders so that we would perform better in upcoming international sports competitions. While our recent performances in Myanmar and in South Korea had been less than expected, I am confident that [Imam] will do a better job in future sports developments than I did,'€ Roy said.

Despite the bleak reflections on past international games, Roy noted that Indonesia was particularly successful in the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Palembang, in which it took the top ranking.

Imam promised to settle the KOI/KONI dispute.

Roy Suryo took office in 2013, following Andi Mallarangeng'€™s resignation from the post in 2012 after being named a graft suspect in the Hambalang sports complex case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Roy will return to the House of Representatives as a lawmaker for the Democratic Party following the end of his ministerial position. (dyl)