Concerns and controversies at the 2018 Asian Games
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A number of concerns and controversies surfaced before and during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
Jakarta, consistently ranked as having one of the world's worst traffic congestion problems, was building a subway and two light metro systems; however, the subway and the first light metro would not be ready until 2019, and the second light metro construction faced numerous delays until 2023.[1] Organizers had proposed closing schools during the event to curb traffic from millions of commuting pupils, this was never occurred.[2] Authorities also proposed to set aside toll roads and bus lanes for special official and athlete use during the Games. Jakarta has also instated an odd-even licence plate system to limit congestion.[3]
The sidewalk of the Jenderal Sudirman Road (Jalan Jenderal Sudirman), the main corridor of Jakarta, underwent a revitalization for the games and to support the operational of the new subway system.[4] The work was overall uneven; some parts of the sidewalks were finished, while others were not.[5][6] The epicenter of attention is the condition of bus stops at the front of the main venues of the games. The bus stops' shelter was separated from the roadside by a corridor of grass as a part of the new sidewalk design. But eventually, a ramp was built to connect between the old shelter and the road.[6][7][8] New shelters were later built within the green corridor after the games concluded.
Air pollution also became a concern in both cities. Jakarta has long struggled to boost air quality, regularly rated as unsafe by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Jakarta's average score on the Air Quality Index (AQI) had exceeded 100 during early July 2018, once reaching the "unhealthy" range at 171 on 11 AM, Tuesday, 17 July 2018. Palembang also had been constantly under risk of haze caused by peatland fire during dry season which coincides with the Games. Authorities are looking into the possibility of cloud seeding to combat the fire hotspots by triggering rainfall in dry areas with flares of salt shot into suitable clouds.[9] Authorities covered a polluted, foul-smelling river near the Asian Games athletes' village in Jakarta with black nylon mesh over fears it will be an eyesore at the showpiece event.[10]
Security is another concern, with the Games taking place just a few months after a series of terror attacks, which killed dozens of people and provoked fear over Islamist militants. Some 100,000 security staff including bomb squad and sniper teams would be deployed in Jakarta, Palembang, and West Java, where the majority of events are hosted. Local police said they have been taking part in a pre-Asian Games crackdown on terror suspects and petty street criminals.[3][11]
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) also raised concerns over Malaysian men's U-16 national football team security issues due to the recent provocations by Indonesian fans at venues and on social media,[12] it was initially triggered after Malaysia won at the 2018 AFF U-19 Youth Championship at East Java.[13] When the penalty shoot-out ended with a score 3–2 against the host, dissatisfied Indonesian supporters to throw bottles and rocks at the Malaysian team after their team failed to qualify to the finals which caused the Malaysian team to run to their dressing room for safety.[14][15]
On 21 July 2018, less than one month from the Games, women football venue of Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang had been partially damaged in a riot during local football league. At least 335 seats had been destroyed by the mob.[16]
Officials had held Asian Games' men football tournament drawing three times due to protest from UAE and Palestine which were incidentally not included in the first drawing. Later, Iraq withdrew from tournament which forced officials to rebalance the groups by determining which of Palestine or UAE would be moved to Group C to replace Iraq.[17]
Prior to the start of the golf tournament of the Asian Games, several national golf associations complained to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Macau and Uzbekistan had possibly entered professional golfers, but the CAS ruled that none of the players were professional as the golf tournament was reserved only for the amateur players.[18][19]