Analyzing the Impact of the 2011 SEA Games on Indonesia's Development

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, hosted by Indonesia. It evaluates the event's multifaceted impact on the host country, examining economic, political, and social dimensions. The report highlights significant economic developments, including infrastructure improvements in Palembang and increased foreign investment, while also acknowledging political challenges, such as corruption allegations and controversies surrounding the games' organization. Socially, the report discusses the games' influence on job creation, income, and cultural exchange. Despite political issues, the SEA Games successfully boosted the Indonesian economy and brought positive social changes, while also promoting environmental conservation efforts. The conclusion underscores the games' mixed legacy, emphasizing economic and social gains alongside political controversies, ultimately contributing to the nation's development.

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Impact of the 2011 SEA Games on the economic, political and social life of Indonesia as host
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Executive summary
This paper illustrates various important aspects of 2011 Southeast Asian Games, which was held
in Indonesia. The subject of the paper contains evaluation of the impact of the 2011 SEA Games
on the economic, political and social life in Indonesia as a host country. It has been observed that
due to the organization of the games, the economic and social aspects of the country had
experienced significant development. However, the political leadership faced criticism and
challenges due to severe corruption and integrity issues, which hampered the reputation of the
Indonesian government. It has also been observed that the event was successful due to the
extraordinary performance by the national teams that earned the maximum number of medals in
the event.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Economic Impact.............................................................................................................................3
Political impact................................................................................................................................4
Social Impact...................................................................................................................................6
Evaluation and conclusion...............................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
2011 Southeast Asian Games was the 26th SEA Games that were held in Indonesia. It was
fourth time that Indonesia hosted the SEA Games since its first in 1997. The event contained 42
sports with 545 different types of events in which around 4965 athletes participated from 11
countries (Kimura 2012). In the list of medals won, Indonesia emerged as the champion in the
overall games and bagged 182 golds, 151 silvers and 143 bronzes. Thailand and Vietnam
emerged as second and third in the list (Virola 2013). Thus, it can be said that the SEA Games
played a significant role in the upliftment of Indonesia in the sports world. At the same time,
hosting of such as large scale event has also contributed significantly in the improvement of the
economic, political and social life of Indonesia. This paper will illustrate the impact of the 2011
SEA Games on the economic, political and social life of Indonesia.
Economic Impact
The economic perspective was also ventilated the same picture where the situation went
against Indonesia. The research of Creak (2011) opined that since 1998 the Indonesian politico-
economic situation turned radically where the neoliberal economic framework was replacing the
prolonged practice of patron-client relationship. Moreover, insidestory.org.au (2011) also
claimed that during the 2011 SEA Games, Indonesia had started its journey towards achieving
success in economic growth. Nevertheless, the country failed to keep its pace due to
indiscriminate corruptions. Therefore, the impact of 2011 SEA Games arranged a major setback
for economic development in Indonesia. There are some benefits that Indonesia got in course of
organising the SEA games 2011. A number of foreign companies were liked to invest in the
business infrastructure and sports industry to be specific (Allard, 2011). As a matter of fact,

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Indonesia got a foothold in the international market through its immense exposure that
reinvigorating the image and culture of the country. The Republic of Indonesia, or Indonesia,
hosted the 26th Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) in 2011 in Palembang and Jakarta. It was
the fourth time the Indonesians hosted the games, with its first in being the 8th SEA Games in
1979 (8th SEA Games), then the 14th SEA Games in 1987 and the 19th SEA Games in 1997.
Jakarta already hosted three SEA Games previously and hence already had some
developed infrastructure which was beneficial for the overall economy. However, in 2011,
Palembang was also chosen as a venue for the Games. Due to this reason, various infrastructural
developments occurred in Palembang. Jakabaring Sports Complex was developed in the city,
which is now known as Sports City. Along with the sports complex, the city got new roads,
improvement of the existing roads and transport facilities, and also an upgraded international
airport. This development boosted the growth of Palembang in the political, economic and
cultural life. The Games brought investments in all the business and development aspects of the
city. Number of tourists grew significantly in Palembang and in the South Sumatra region, which
continued to increase in the coming years (Kimura 2012). Palembang was once the most grubby
city in the nation while after the games it became the cleanest city in Indonesia. Thus, the SEA
Games had significant contribution in the economic and infrastructural development of
Palembang and in the overall nation (insidestory.org.au 2011).
Political impact
Politically, it can be stated that the purpose of the game was to increase the political
importance and stance of Indonesia in the South East Asian continent. In fact, research from

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Allard (2011) argues that conducting the SEA Games for the third time was driven by the
country’s will to expand its political importance within the region. However, there were several
fragmented events that made the country into the front page of the newspapers. Creak’s (2011)
report revealed the corruption and scandals that then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s
Democratic Party was alleged with. For instance, the Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad
Nazaruddin was accused of accepting a bribe of US$ 3 million on the tenders for constructing the
athlete’s village in Palembang. Moreover, the preparation was not adequate enough to organise
an international standard Games event. Lack of accommodation in Palembang for the athletes
and the last minute supplementary changes was highly ridiculous and portrayed an
unprofessional attitude of the government. The allegation was further intensified by Asia
Sentinel article where the presence of China and its investment in the 2011 SEA Games rose red
flags against the government conspiracies.
The opening and closing ceremony of the Games were staged as a political spectacle in
the political arena of Indonesia. The grandeur of the ceremonies reflected the power and position
of the ruling party, which boosted its reputation despite all the controversies. The Games were
hosted in only two provinces in Indonesia, South Sumatra and Jakarta, despite improved
infrastructures in other regions, which raised the question of integrity and ability of the
government in hosting the games successfully. However, the performance of the national team in
the games helped to divert the attention of the citizens and the global audience from the political
issues of the country. Hence, it can be said that the SEA Games has done a significant
contribution in improving the fragmented political scenario of the country, which was beneficial
for the future (Creak 2014).

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Social Impact
Socially, the 26thSEA Games left a great deal of impact on Indonesia. The political
turmoil and mal administrative practices created a derogatory image of the Indonesian society in
front of the entire world. Allard (2011) articulated that the purpose of the 26thSEA Games was to
portray a good image of the Indonesian society and its people. However the lack of government
coordination and the corruptions nullified those efforts and revealed the lack of integrity and
cultural backwardness that the people of Indonesia had that was created a great problem for
cultural influence in Indonesia.
The performance of the national team in the SEA Games was helpful for creating a social
impact on the people of Indonesia. The organization of the games and its preparation helped to
create millions of jobs, and increased the flow of money in the economy, which in turn
contributed in the development of the communities (Homafar et al. 2011). The standard of living
for the people improved significantly resulting in social benefit. There was mixing of various
cultures due to great inflow of international tourists.
Evaluation and conclusion
The 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia faced several political controversies that affected the
reputation of the nation in terms of capability and integrity in hosting such a large scale global
event successfully. However, apart from spectacular performance by the national teams in
different types of sports, the Games were considered to be quite successful for an environmental
cause. The country promoted its conservation efforts for the endangered fauna species, the
Komodo Dragon, through various promotional activities including the mascot of the games.
These were successful in drawing attention towards the endangered species and the efforts taken

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by the Indonesian government to protect them. The games also helped to boost the economy of
the country, which was facing challenges like corruption, and inefficient political leadership.
However, due to the event, the economic and social life got many benefits and also the sports
industry developed.
Lastly, it can be concluded that the 2011 SEA Games was successful in bringing more
investments, international tourists into the country, in the development of infrastructures and
various of businesses, generating large employment and improving the average income and
standard of living of the people in Jakarta and Palembang. Thus, the games helped in the
development of social and economic life. However, the government and the games organizing
committee faced quite a few severe controversies regarding and a stampede at the football final,
and corruption and fragmented political condition and leadership issues, which created lack of
confidence among the citizens regarding the success of the games in front of the global audience.
Although, the government put its best effort to uplift the image through grand ceremonies and
promotion of their efforts of environment protection, yet the 2011 SEA Games faced a
controversial review on its political success.

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References
Creak, Simon. "More Than a Mess: The 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia". New Mandala.
https://www.newmandala.org/more-than-a-mess-the-2011-sea-games-in-indonesia/ (2011).
Creak, Simon. "National restoration, regional prestige: the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar,
2013." The Journal of Asian Studies 73, no. 4 (2014): 853-877.
Homafar, Fazele, Habib Honari, Akbar Heidary, Taghi Heidary, and Afsane Emami. "The role of
sport tourism in employment, income and economic development." Journal of hospitality
management and tourism 2, no. 3 (2011): 34-37.
insidestory.org.au. "Mixing Politics and Sport". Inside Story. https://insidestory.org.au/mixing-
politics-and-sport/ (2011).
Kimura, Ehito. "Indonesia in 2011: a glass half-empty." Asian Survey 52, no. 1 (2012): 186-194.
Virola, Romulo. A. "NSCB - Statistically Speaking... 2011 SEA GAMES STATISTICS:
BASKETBALL, FOOTBALL? HOW ABOUT BRIDGE?". Nap.Psa.Gov.Ph.
http://nap.psa.gov.ph/headlines/StatsSpeak/2011/121211_rav_gc_mp_pv.asp (2013).

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Appendix
Country 2011 SEAG d/
Gold Rank Silver Rank Bronze Rank Total Rank
Brunei
Darussalam 0 11 4 10 7 10 11 10
Cambodia 4 9 11 9 24 9 39 9
Indonesia 182 1 151 1 143 1 476 1
Lao PDR 9 8 12 8 36 8 57 8
Malaysia 59 4 50 5 81 4 190 4
Myanmar 16 7 27 7 37 7 80 7
Philippines 36 6 56 4 77 5 169 5
Singapore 42 5 45 6 73 6 160 6
Thailand 109 2 100 2 120 2 329 2
Timor-Leste 1 10 1 11 6 11 8 11
Vietnam 96 3 92 3 100 3 288 3
Total 554 549 704 1,807
Table 1: Number of medals and rank of Indonesia in 2011 SEAG