Gold Medalist Eki Now Happy After Call From Sports Minister
Jakarta. Elite athlete Eki Febri Ekawati is now happy after receiving payment from the government to cover the cost of her accommodation during the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia.
Eki, a gold medalist in women's shot-put event at the Games, bemoaned the government's lack of support on her Instagram page in late August, claiming that the government had not provided funds for her accommodation from January to August.
After a few days, Eki took to Instagram again, expressing satisfaction after being contacted by Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi.
"I, Eki Febri Ekawati, say thank you to Pak Imam, Mr Gatot [the Ministry of Sports secretary general] and Satlak Prima [Indonesia's Sports High-Performance Task Force] and other related parties who have responded well and fast to fix my accommodation fees issue. I also apologize if any words were mistaken," she said, according to the ministry's official website.
Minister Imam reportedly called the athlete by phone, calming her and saying 'thank you' for the report over the mismanagement of funds.
"I was phoned by Pak Imam regarding the issue and he said that he will process my concern fast," Eki said.
Responding to Eki's concern over the last two weeks, Imam said that state funds has some restrictions. He said he will use funds generated from the private sector to pay for fees at the next major international sporting event, including the 2018 Asian Games.
It is common in Indonesian sports for state funds to be delayed due to bureaucratic red tape.
Tags: Keywords: