Bangkok, 25 April 2025
For the first time in history since its establishment in 2006 in Doha – Qatar, SEARADO (South East Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization) has a new SEARADO Chairman from Indonesia. The trust in Indonesia occurred when at the SEARADO Board Meeting which took place on April 25th, 2025 in Bangkok, all meeting participants who were generally leaders of NADO (National Anti-Doping Organization) from all countries in the Southeast Asia region had unanimously elected Gatot S. Dewa Broto, who daily serves as the Chairman of IADO to serve as the new SEARADO Chairman, replacing Dr. Patrick Goh from Singapore. For Indonesia, this is the first opportunity since LADI (Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency / predecessor of IADO) was established in 2006. What is even more interesting is that Indonesia has been suspended by WADA twice in a row, namely at the end of 2016 when it was busy approaching the 2018 Asian Games and at the end of 2021 when the public was shocked by the incident of the failure to raise the Red and White flag when the Indonesian Badminton Team won back the Thomas Cup in Denmark. Since then, Indonesia has been busy with a total reform of the governance of the anti-doping organization and its image has gradually begun to improve in the eyes of SEARADO and WADA.
Indonesia really hopes that under the leadership of Mr. Gatot S. Dewa Broto, SEARADO, which has its office in Singapore, will develop better in accordance with its purpose of establishment, which is to facilitate coordination between member countries if they experience obstacles, especially in interacting with WADA. It is no longer a secret that in general, a number of common problems in the SEARADO environment and that also occur in various other regions (except Europe and North America), namely budget limitations, limited sample takers, late delivery, limited number of samples taken and also the existence of a number of domestic regulations that are considered to be in conflict with the World Anti-Doping Code. In this new era, each NADO is asked not to feel alone if they are being reprimanded and/or audited by WADA. That is why the Director of WADA for the Asia Oceania Region was also present at the SEARADO Board Meeting, who was expected to be able to interact with each other. They must help each other. In addition, SEARADO is also asked to bridge the relationship between NADO and their respective governments, because it is undeniable that there is often a less than complete understanding of the essence of doping control in the current era.