Indonesia has three separate institutions that manage national sports.

A member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Indonesia has the National Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia). However, it also has the National Sports Council (KONI), which is responsible for managing and assisting national sports federations in developing Indonesian sports.

NOC Indonesia and KONI are both NGOs and partners of the Youth and Sports Ministry, but having the two organizations has created difficulties, as their duties often overlap. This has prompted individual sports federations to take sides and led to dualism within the federations.

Former NOC Indonesia chief Erick Thohir said that the best solution to cut dualism was by integrating the NOC and KONI, and expressed the hope that his successor, Raja Sapta “Okto” Oktohari, would eventually come to realize this idea during Okto’s 2019-2023 term.

Erick added that the integration could be realized by revising Law No. 3/2005 on the national sports system.

However, the aspiration of the now state-owned enterprises minister is unlikely to materialize in the near future, as the NOC Indonesia, KONI and the sports ministry have hinted that they would continue under the partnership scheme and set aside the idea of a merger.

During the recent NOC Indonesia handover ceremony, Okto stated that he and KONI chief Marciano Norman were on the same page in developing the country’s sports, as well as in settling disputes among sports federations.

“Pak Marciano and I, along with the sports minister, have sat down together. We’ve agreed to be united in facing any situation, including [internal problems] at sports federations,” Okto said in Jakarta on the sidelines of the handover ceremony on Nov. 4.

“KONI and the NOC [Indonesia] have agreed to divide the scope of our work so we can solve every problem together, since we have the means to [do so],” he added.

Okto is currently campaigning for the use of NOC Indonesia instead of Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) to avoid confusion over the acronyms in international relations, and also referred to the two national arbitration boards for sports.

Badan Arbitrase Keolahragaan Indonesia (BAKI), founded in 2012, operates under the NOC Indonesia, while Badan Arbitrase Olahraga Indonesia (BAORI) was founded in 2006 and operates under KONI. However, both are generally translated as Indonesian sports arbitration board.

“Whatever the problem is, we can solve [it]. Pak Marciano and I already think the same way, which is to focus on driving Indonesian sports toward achievements,” said Okto.

Marciano said merging KONI and NOC Indonesia could potentially be disruptive amid the country’s preparations for international sporting events such as the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the National Games (PON) 2020, as well as the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021, which Indonesia is hosting.

Disputes over the management of national sports federations are a chronic problem on the national sports scene, and has affected Indonesian Table Tennis Association (PTMSI), the Indonesian Triathlon Federation (FTI), the Indonesian Equestrian and Horse Racing Association (Pordasi) and the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI).

Politics in Indonesian sports has often hampered athlete development and performance, especially during training and competition.

Indonesian table tennis continues to suffer from a dispute between three parties, each of which claim to be the “official” management of the PTMSI.

In 2018, dualism at the FTI had prevented the federation from providing a proper training camp for its athletes for that year’s Asian Games, which Indonesia hosted.

— Dicky Christanto contributed to the story.

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