National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Budi Gunawan has been named head of PB Esports Indonesia, a federation that claims to contain all e-sports associations in the country.

Budi, a retired police general, said the federation would need to work on a list of duties to develop Indonesian e-sports – a new competitive area in a discipline that is still often considered a pastime.

"We have so many things to do, including building an e-sports training center to international standards and an arena that is integrated as a tourism destination,” said Budi during his inaugural speech at the Kempinski Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday, as quoted by Antara.

He said he wanted to develop an e-sports platform connected to a high-speed internet network and integrated with the Palapa Ring to connect rural areas in Indonesia.

“We need to connect with the Palapa Ring. This has to be done,” said Budi, who is also known for his close relations with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The Palapa Ring is a telecommunication infrastructure project consisting of 36,000 kilometers of fiber-optic line across Indonesia. It is expected to encourage equal social and economic development nationwide.

Budi said he would receive help from subordinates, especially in working on regulations for the new sport.

Budi inaugurated 40 officials in the federation. He hoped that Esports Indonesia would be registered immediately as a member of the National Sports Council.

Indonesia has a list of e-sports associations, including the Indonesia Esports Association, which was formed in 2013. The association, which became a member of the Indonesian Recreational Sports Federation in June 2014, selected and sent athletes to the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.

“We plan to embrace all [e-sports] associations [in the country],” said Budi. (gis)