Ravando – On June 6, 2025, President Prabowo Subianto invited members of the Indonesian national football team to dinner at his residence in Kertanegara, South Jakarta, to celebrate Indonesia's 1-0 victory against China in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
At the dinner, Prabowo gave each player a luxury Rolex watch. The presidential office claims that Prabowo used his personal funds to purchase these expensive watches, but, the gesture sparked criticism and controversy from various quarters.
One of the most outspoken critics was Indonesia's 'wushu queen', Lindswell Kwok, who highlighted the stark disparity in recognition and financial support of different sports.
She pointed to a group of junior wushu (Chinese martial arts) athletes who had been preparing for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, but were sent home by the Ministry of Youth and Sports at the eleventh hour, reportedly due to financial issues. These young athletes had undergone eight months of national training camp and had left school behind to train intensively – but there were no presidential watches for them.
Lessons from the 1958 Thomas Cup competion
The problem is not so much the gifts themselves, but who gives them.
Back in 1958, Indonesia's successful Thomas Cup badminton squad also received luxury watches – Polerouter Universal Geneve timepieces. At the time, this caused no controversy whatsoever because the gifts were entirely paid for by donations from the Indonesian public.
The initiative came from R. Marto, a reader of the Sin Po newspaper, who proposed that Indonesia's victorious Thomas Cup team be given a token of appreciation to commemorate their historic achievement. His idea was published in the 17 June 1958, edition of Sin Po, and he encouraged the paper to act as the intermediary to collect public donations.
Given Sin Po's influence, he believed many people would contribute. To kick off the initiative, Marto donated Rp 100 (about Rp 2 million or US$122 today) himself, a gesture warmly welcomed by the newspaper.
Residents of Jakarta who wished to donate could do so directly at the Sin Po office on Asemka 30, while donors from outside the city were encouraged to send money orders to the same address. All donor names were then published in a dedicated column titled Dompet Tanda Mata Pembatja Sin Po pada Regu Thomas Cup Indonesia (Sin Po Readers' Souvenir Fund for the Indonesian Thomas Cup Team).
The initiative was widely welcomed by all segments of society. People from all walks of life, from middle to working class, enthusiastically contributed to the cause. On the first day alone (June 17), Sin Po collected Rp 8,880 from 38 donors.
By the second day, even government officials began to take part. Among the contributors were prominent figures such as Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja, Foreign Minister Subandrio, First Deputy Prime Minister Hardi, Second Deputy Prime Minister Idham Chalid, and Third Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Leimena.
By July 1, 1958, the total amount of donations received by Sin Po had reached Rp 37,086. Interestingly, contributions were not just in the form of money. Cash-strapped citizens offered a range of other goods – from shoes to meal invitations, among others.
At one point, several readers suggested that the collected funds be used to build a proper badminton hall in Jakarta, especially since Indonesia was set to host the next Thomas Cup in 1961. However, this proposal was rejected by most other donors. They argued that such infrastructure was the responsibility of the state and should not be financed through public donations. For them, the primary goal was clear: the funds should go directly to the athletes as a gesture of gratitude.
The donated funds were eventually used to purchase seven Polerouter Universal Geneve watches from N.V. Tjiliwung, one of the leading watch retailers at the time. The store even generously added an extra watch free of charge. Each timepiece was engraved by the Hap Tjiang watch shop in Pancoran with the words Tanda Mata Pembatja Sin Po (A Token from Sin Po Readers).
On August 8, 1958, a formal handover ceremony was held at the Mambo restaurant in Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta. Then Minister of Information Soedibjo praised the Sin Po readers' initiative as a powerful example of how the public could express appreciation for national athletes.
Kwa Sien Biauw, editor-in-chief of Sin Po, remarked that the paper merely served as a channel for the aspirations of the Indonesian people, who were proud of the Thomas Cup squad's world-class achievement. At a time when Indonesia was grappling with political and economic turmoil, the team's victory offered the nation a rare moment of unity and pride.
This heart-warming public gesture for the 1958 Thomas Quad squad was a happy ending to their uncertain and challenging journey to the tournament.
Before becoming champions, the Indonesian Thomas Cup squad faced severe financial uncertainty. They lacked the funds to participate in the final round in Singapore, and their lineup was weakened by the absence of top player Ferry Sonneville, who was studying in the Netherlands and unable to return home due to financial constraints. The Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) openly admitted it did not have the money to bring him back.
In response, Star Weekly, one of the largest Chinese Indonesian magazines of the era, stepped in and launched the Dompet Ferry Sonneville (Ferry Sonneville Fund). The campaign struck a chord with the public and exceeded expectations, raising Rp 40,545.80, enough to not only fund Ferry's return but also finance the entire team's trip to Singapore.
What followed was a triumph no one had predicted. The underdog team, assembled through community support, defied the odds and brought home Indonesia's first major international sporting victory. This success triggered widespread euphoria across the nation. The Thomas Cup victory quickly became a national talking point. It marked the beginning of Indonesia's long golden era in badminton.
Like football, badminton has deep roots in Indonesia's sporting culture, especially among the Chinese Indonesian community, which had played a central role in developing local badminton clubs and organising popular matches during night markets (pasar malam).
More importantly, it offered something far greater: a symbol of cross-ethnic unity and the power of civil society. At a moment when the state fell short, the public rose to the occasion and, in doing so, rewrote the narrative of who could contribute to national pride.
Are some sports bigger than others?
This brings us to an uncomfortable truth about Indonesia's sporting landscape today, when the line between appreciation and favoritism has grown increasingly thin.
There is no question that football and badminton are among the most popular sports in Indonesia. But this should not mean they are more important than others.
The government must stop favouring sports with mass appeal, football most of all. To put things in perspective: for the 2025 fiscal year, football has been allocated nearly Rp 200 billion (about US$12.2 million). In contrast, most other sports must make do with a fraction of that – typically between Rp 10 and 30 billion.
This glaring disparity raises urgent questions. What about athletes from other disciplines who have also brought glory to the country? What about those who train in obscurity, who work just as hard but without the spotlight. What about coaches, medical teams, disabled athletes?
Certainly, civil society can express support for the sports they love the most, through donation and other forms of contribution like the crowdsourced efforts to give Indonesia's 1958 Thomas Cup team luxury watches. But the government is in a different position- it must treat all sports and athletes equally and proportionally.
If it fails to do so, any gestures by the state to reward athletes risk being perceived not as appreciation, but as favouritism.
And that won't bode well for Indonesian sports in general.