Will it be successful?. Indeed, it must. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that the event is a great opportunity for the promotion of the country, and so every effort must be taken to assure its success.
A total of 45 countries will take part in the event, and so the world`s attention will be focused on Indonesia during this period.
People have been waiting for the event since Aug 18, 2017, when the countdown to the Games was officially started by Widodo.
On July 15, the Asian Gamed torch relay began. It has now covered half of the route, before it reaches Jakarta for the opening ceremony scheduled on August 18, which is a day after the nation commemorates its 73rd independence anniversary.
Indeed, August is a special month for Indonesia this year as three important events that draw general public attention is scheduled to happen in the country in the month.
The first will be the announcement of the presidential and vice presidential candidates for the election in 2019; the second is the country`s independence anniversary; and the third is the 18th Asian Games.
Jokowi has already declared his decision to seek reelection. People have to wait until Aug 10, which is the deadline for the registration of presidential and vice presidential candidates, for confirmation on whether he will face Prabowo again in the election like before.
In connection with the Asian Games, Jokowi has set three targets for achieving success, namely preparation, implementation, and performances.
So far, preparations have been going well. All facilities for the event have been ready for use.
Indonesia is set to become one among the 10 biggest countries eyeing a minimum of 16 gold medals in the event, which offers 463 disciplines from 40 sport branches.
To motivate its athletes, the Indonesian government has offered Rp1.5 billion (more than US$100,000) to each gold medalist.
"This bonus will be the highest in the history of Asian Games," Indonesian Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi stated.
Badminton has so far been considered one of the sport branches that has the potential to contribute to gold medals.
Badminton legend Yuni Kartika expressed hoped that Indonesia will win more badminton gold medals in 2018 compared to 2014.
"Our expectation is that our team would perform better and grab more gold medals than in 2014 Asian Games," Yuni remarked.
With regard to security, Military (TNI) commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto had stated he would not allow any disruptions to happen during the event.
"This is a big event, and so no room must be allowed for any security threat to happen, including terrorism," he noted.
He added that he would deploy his men to assure security not only in Jakarta and Palembang but also throughout the country.
"Asian Games is also a national branding. So, TNI will not tolerate any kind of security threat," he said, adding that TNI would work together with the police.
Indonesia police chief General Tito Karnavian revealed here on Thursday that the police must anticipate terror threats.
"Terrorism is the main threat, while street crimes are the second and traffic jams are the third," he explained at a meeting with House Commission III.
Following the bomb attacks in Surabaya, East Java, recently, he noted that the police continued to make maneuvers, involving various elements, to prevent its recurrence.
Karnavian explained that the police would strengthen security at venues and reinforce commands in regions used for the Asian Games events, such as South Sumatra, Jakarta, West Java, and Banten.
"The four regional commands have operations involving other agencies such as the military and local administrations. There will also be CCTV and command posts to be made available," he revealed.
He also stated that street crimes have to be dealt with to assure a sense of security when the guests from 45 countries stay in the country.
So far, the police have netted 1,500 street criminals in West Java and 50 in Jakarta, he added.
The torch has been relayed from city to city or district to district in 18 provinces in the country from east to west to make people aware of the event. People have enthusiastically joined the torch parade in their respective cities or districts.
The torch relay will pass through 53 cities/districts in 18 out of 34 provinces in the country. It started on July 15, marked by the lighting of the torch at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, host of the first Asian Games. The flame was generated from a parabolic mirror directed straight at the sun.
On 18 July 2018, a ceremony took place in the 9th century Hindu temple of Prambanan near Yogyakarta, where the torch`s flame from India were fused together with an Indonesian natural eternal flame taken from Mrapen, Central Java.
From there, the torch relay travelled to the eastern regions before turning to the western regions and finally reaching Jakarta on Aug 15 for the opening ceremony on Aug 18.
Editing by Eliswan Azaly
Reporter: Yoseph Hariyadi
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
