REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia men's singles badminton player Jonatan Christie was keen to donate some of the bonus he would receive from the government for his success in winning a gold medal in the 18th Asian Games' badminton to Lombok quake victims. He also wanted to share it to team members who have backed him up from the beginning and even prior to the Asian Game.

"I also wish to save part of it for my family and for those who really need it, such as the Lombok quake victims," he noted.

Speaking to journalists after defeating Chinese Taipei's Chou Tienchen in a tough final of the men's singles at the 18th Asian Games' badminton here on Tuesday, he stated that he wanted to share part of what God has given him with others. Christie, commonly known by his nickname "Jojo," noted that he had never wished for the bonus the government had promised for every Indonesian athlete who grabbed medals in the Asian Games being held in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra Province.

"I have never thought of the bonus. I just focused on playing as best as possible. I just did the best that I could," the world's top 15th player remarked.

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"To be honest, I had never imagined that I would bag a gold medal. I do believe that it is the mercy of God Almighty towards me," the 2017 SEA Games' gold medalist revealed.

Over the past four weeks, the Indonesian resort island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara Province had been under the spotlight after a string of strong earthquakes hit the island since July 29. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as of Aug 23, the strong earthquakes, including the 7.0-magnitude quake that shook Lombok Island on Aug 5, have killed at least 555 people and injured 829 others.

The majority of the fatalities were residents of North Lombok District areas, due to their close proximity to the strong earthquake's epicenter. The repeated earthquakes have also damaged 23,098 houses and forced 134,236 people to be displaced.

The central government has set a target of six months to complete the reconstruction of houses damaged by a series of previous earthquakes. "The ministries and the BNPB will assist the governor and district heads to complete the reconstruction of the damaged houses in six months," Vice President Jusuf Kalla pointed out recently.

According to Kalla, it would take a year to repair public facilities.

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