Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla delivers his speech as banners with Asian Games mascot, called Drawa, stand in the background in Jakarta, Indonesia
Indonesia is revising the mascot for the 2018 Asian Games after criticism that the newly unveiled bird-of-paradise looks more like a chicken.
Gatot Dewa Broto, a spokesman for the Ministry of Youth and Sport, said yesterday that the revision should be finalized over the next two to four months at the latest.
The mascot, called Drawa, was launched Dec. 27 by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and is named after Cendrawasih, the local name of an iconic bird which is only found in Indonesia’s eastern most Papua province, New Guinea, and eastern Australia.
However, many online critics have said the design makes it look more like a chicken than a bird-of-paradise, while others have said the mascot is out of date or just not suitable for such a major event.
“The reason for the revision is that there were many criticisms and resistances from the public,” Dewa Broto said. “We retain the ‘Drawa’, but more simple than the current one, which is too colorful and seems to be running against trending of contemporary design.”
The revision would be carried out by designers from a government agency, Dewa Broto said, but added that the ministry was still open to proposals from the public.
The games’ logo is the silhouette of the bird, while the “Drawa” mascot is dressed in clothing used for the traditional martial art of Pencak Silat.
“Mr. Minister of Sports, are you not ashamed when launching the mascot? We are not in a crisis of designers,” wrote Joko Anwar on Twitter.
“Drawa is taken from cen’DRAWA’sih, but once we see, we think it is a rooster,” tweeted Jon Warif.
Indonesia, which last staged the games in 1962, was named again as host in 2014 after Vietnam relinquished its hosting rights because of financial concerns.
The Aug. 18 to Sep. 2 events will be held in four provinces — the capital of Jakarta, Banten, South Sumatra and West Java. AP
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