Sending Off the 2025 SEA Games Contingent, President Prabowo: Give Your Best!

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - President Prabowo Subianto ignited the spirit of the Indonesian contingent athletes who are about to depart for Thailand to compete in the 2025 SEA Games. A bonus of IDR 1 billion has also been promised for gold medalists.

President Prabowo inquired about the bonus to be awarded to gold medalists from Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir during the release of the contingent for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand at the State Palace, Jakarta, Friday (5/12/2025). This question was answered with an amount of Rp 500 million.

"500? Can it be raised to Rp 1 billion? It can. Right? The Minister of State Secretary, can it? Alhamdulillah," said the President after confirming with the Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, who was also present at the event. Additionally, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, the Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee Raja Sapta Oktohari, and the contingent leader (CDM) Bayu Priawan Djokosoetono were also in attendance.

President Prabowo believes that all athletes compete not solely for money. "But from your faces, it is evident that receiving such awards will greatly assist your careers. Is that true or not?" added the President.

The President also reminded that all athletes receive the great honor of representing nearly 300 million Indonesian citizens at the SEA Games. Prabowo mentioned that this was his dream when he was young.

"I never received what I once dreamed of as a young person. As a youth at that time, I dreamed of whether someday I could represent my nation on the world sports stage, and now you all have that honor," he stated.

Therefore, after hard training efforts, the President hopes that everyone will do their best. "I can only advise you to do the best you can. Give your best, give everything you can give. Because this is an event to defend the honor of the entire Indonesian nation," the President added.

The President will also offer prayers. Although some Indonesians are still affected by the disaster, Prabowo urged all athletes to remain steadfast.

"We are a strong nation, a resilient nation, a nation that does not easily give up, a nation that will not be intimidated by anything. Let the storm strike us, we will stand firm like a rock in the middle of the ocean, we will take care of our brothers and sisters who are suffering from disasters, but we will not stop, we cannot cry, we cannot ponder, we will work hard in all fields," he added.

In addition, the President also promised that all outstanding athletes will receive the best positions. For example, Rizki Juniansyah, a weightlifting athlete who is now a member of the Navy with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Rizki, who was met separately, expressed his hope to become a member of the Marine Corps, as he has been training in weightlifting at Kwini, Jakarta, in the Marine officer's mess.

"Compete with all your heart, focus, courage, confidence, maintain discipline, and always be humble. Do your best. Strength, sometimes if the strength comes from within, that strength can exceed human expectations. You must dig deep for the strength within yourself. Convince yourself first, then you will achieve accomplishments that may be beyond people's expectations," Prabowo added.

Not only ensuring awards for the athletes, the President expressed his desire to prepare long-term sports development. "I have planned that we will build a large sports center, I request at least 500 hectares for that center. There is no sports center that is 5 hectares, 8 hectares, no," he stated.

In this sports center, all children are expected to learn and train. The best coaches will be brought in to nurture potential athletes from the age of eight.

"Now the SEA Games, then the Asian Games, and later the Olympics, but we are also thinking further ahead, in the long term. I believe that with this kind of coaching, from 300 million (population), it will certainly produce many champions, young heroes who will elevate the name and honor of the Indonesian nation," he added.

Previously, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Erick Thohir, stated that the athletes participating in the SEA Games would number 1,021 across 48 sports. This number will make Indonesia the fourth country with the largest contingent after Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

Erick added that Indonesia aims to be at least the third highest gold medal winner at the 2025 SEA Games. This target is the same as the SEA Games in Cambodia 2023 when Indonesia won 87 gold medals.

However, there are 41 events for which gold medals were awarded to Indonesia and contested in Cambodia that are no longer held in Thailand. Therefore, the Indonesian contingent will strive to achieve a performance as good as two years ago.

After the release, the Chairman of the All-Indonesian Judo Association, General Maruli Simanjuntak, stated that the judo branch is targeting two gold medals and even hopes to achieve more than that. The athletes have also been prepared to participate in championships in various countries.

"Recently, we had a training camp in Japan, and over the past two years, we have also participated in championships in Asia as well as in Melanesia," said Maruli. The favored judo team, according to Maruli, is the team from Vietnam. Previously, Thailand was a strong opponent for Indonesia.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Aquatic Federation, Anindya Bakrie, stated that he is sending 67 athletes, including those in swimming, water polo, diving, and artistic swimming. He aims for the achievement of more than two gold medals, surpassing the results of the 2023 SEA Games.

Meanwhile, Randi Tulus, Chairman of the Indonesian Flying Disc Players Association, said he was sending eighteen athletes. Flying disc, or ultimate frisbee, will be the first sport to be contested at the SEA Games, making it a demonstration sport.

In this seven-player team game, teams throw and pass a flying disc to each other across the end zone to score points. The team with the most points wins over 90 minutes of play.

The 2025 SEA Games will feature a mixed division, with men and women competing. According to Randi, Indonesian athletes have been training in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, and abroad. The players will strengthen their teamwork with a group training session on December 14-15 before competing.