Crisis-Hit Islamic Games Moved to Indonesian Capital

The Islamic Solidarity Games have been shifted to the Indonesian capital Jakarta after plans to hold the event in a city on Sumatra island collapsed in disarray, an official said Wednesday.

Laborers protesting at not being paid in full have shuttered the main stadium in the city of Pekanbaru, and the local governor has little power to resolve the dispute as he is embroiled in a string of corruption scandals.

The games, which will bring together some 5,000 athletes from member countries of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, had already been postponed from last June until later this year due to the problems.

But Sports Minister Roy Suryo has now decided the games will take place in Jakarta from September 22 to October 1, said Hifni Hasan, an official from the organizing committee.

"After consultation with officials, the sports minister decided to hold the games in Jakarta," he said.

The Pekanbaru stadium has been closed for several weeks by sub-contractors hired to upgrade it who are complaining that they are owed 400 billion rupiah ($41.2 million). Hasan said that funding was on its way to them.

Rusli Zainal, the governor of Riau province of which Pekanbaru is the capital, is under investigation in several corruption cases so is limited in what he can do to resolve the crisis, said Hasan.

"As a corruption suspect, the governor cannot make decisions, cannot disburse funds... it's a huge obstacle to the games," he added.

None of the corruption cases involve the games themselves, according to the country's anti-graft agency. Zainal is still in his job as he has not yet been indicted.

It is the latest embarrassment for Indonesia in its efforts to host big sporting events after two people were killed in a stampede at a Jakarta stadium in the Southeast Asian Games football final in November, 2011.

The 2009 edition of the Islamic games, which include football, badminton, and archery, was also postponed and later cancelled over a dispute between Arab countries and Iran over the name of a waterway.