VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, on Wednesday, echoed its preparedness to build Indonesia's own anti-doping laboratory whilst affirming the government's anti-doping enforcement commitment.

"The main rationale behind building the laboratory is that all this time we need to deliver samples for anti-doping tests overseas, and it was quite expensive, so it affects the test number across Indonesia," Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali told the press.

"I am optimistic of a significant improvement in the test numbers once we build the laboratory," Amali remarked after holding a virtual meeting with President of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Witold Banka.

Pursuing the targets of increasing test numbers and building the laboratory, the ministry’s budget plan for the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) "is up for about 500 percent in the next 2021". These also show the government's preparations on the bid for hosting the 2032 Olympic events.

Some 30 anti-doping laboratories are located across the globe, while only two are in Southeast Asia in Penang, Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand, Chairperson of LADI Zaini Khadafi Saragih pointed out.

"For the test, we have to send the samples to either India, Qatar, or Thailand," he revealed.

WADA's Banka lauded the plan as he called on all parties to play a role in the doping-free campaign during sports competitions.

"This discussion is important for WADA, and I would like to express my gratitude for the cooperation forged with us. The key ideas comprise encouraging more public sectors on the anti-doping campaign," Banka stated. (Antaranews)