Marine sports event aims to heal local welfare woes

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 06/12/2010 10:18 AM

The Sail Banda event to be held in Maluku promises hope for future economic development and improved welfare a decade after the province was ravaged by bloody sectarian conflict.

Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said Friday the government would announce his province as the country’s national fishery buffer stock region.

“We pray that on Aug. 3, 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially announce Maluku as a national fishery storage area and this plan will revive Maluku province’s maritime and fishery development,” he said in a press conference in Jakarta. Sail Banda is slated to kick off next month and will run until mid-August.

The maritime affairs and fisheries minister said the Sail Banda yacht rally would be preceded by a charity event involving the United States’ hospital ship USNS Mercy.

The USNS Mercy, along with local ship KRI Dr. Suharso SHS-990 and ships from Singapore and Australia, will channel aid, as well as procedures related to maternal and child health to a number of areas, including Banda Island and Seram Island.

During an event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) earlier this year, the Health Ministry cited data from the 2007 basic health research.

It revealed that Maluku ranked second after East Nusa Tenggara in terms of malnutrition.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said the event was marked by its philanthropic support. “What makes [Sail Banda] different from Sail Bunaken, is the abundance of social [charity] events,” he said. Last year, the country hosted the Sail Bunaken marine festival off Manado in North Sulawesi.

Karel said that despite progress made since the post-conflict days, Maluku province was still struggling. “During the riots, our economic development growth rate has been minus 26 percent; nowadays… our economic growth is almost 6 percent,” he said, adding that he hoped the Sail Banda would boost the province’s welfare.

Fadel said that his ministry was planning to lure investors from China, Australia and Japan to boost the province’s fishery activity.

The Sail Banda event will feature a number of activities such as marine sports, mangrove planting and the celebration of the nation’s Independence Day in Kisar Island, one of Indonesia’s outermost islands.

The yacht rally is scheduled to flag off from Darwin, Australia on July 24. Thus far, 106 ships from 16 countries have registered.

Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said the proposed budget for the event was Rp 161 billion.