Luhut throws down gauntlet in race for KONI post<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, a former minister of trade and industry,
\nhas thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals in the race for the
\nchairmanship of the National Sports Council by suggesting a
\npublic debate.<\/p>\n
\"I hereby challenge them to stand before the public and debate
\nthe issues. If any of them want to exchange views on how to
\ndevelop the nation's sports, I'm ready for it,\" Luhut said on
\nThursday during his first formal appearance before the media
\nsince he announced his candidacy a month ago.<\/p>\n
Luhut is one of seven candidates who have declared their
\nintentions of running in the election, which is scheduled to take
\nplace during a three-day congress here beginning on Feb. 25.<\/p>\n
The other six are Arie Sudewo, Agum Gumelar, Sutiyoso,
\nIskandar Zulkarnain, Andi Gani Nena and Oesman Sapta.<\/p>\n
Of all the candidates, Luhut, a retired 55-year-old Army
\ngeneral and one of the three most serious contenders, was the
\nfirst to make his policies public since the campaign began.<\/p>\n
\"I'm ready for a three-way debate. I will ask the others what
\nthey will do to improve the nation's sports,\" Luhut said.
\nAlthough he did mentione any names, he was clearly referring to
\nArie and Agum, both also retired Army generals.<\/p>\n
Arie is the deputy to current chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar,
\nwhile Agum heads the national soccer association PSSI in addition
\nto being transportation minister.<\/p>\n
Luhut, who is the chairman of the karate-do body, Forki, tried
\nto convince the national sports community that he should be the
\nright person for the KONI post.<\/p>\n
\"I have the capabilities, the connections and the time to take
\ncharge of KONI. I'll make myself available full-time for the
\njob,\" said the former Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he pledged his loyalty to whoever was elected
\nshould his bid fail. \"I'll respect and support whoever is the
\nleader. I will remain in my position as one who is interested in
\nthe development of sport, especially karate,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also claimed he would be accountable, saying: \"Should I be
\nelected chairman and I don't do my job well over the first two
\nyears, I'll definitely resign and say good-bye\".<\/p>\n
Luhut said he had received the support of 13 institutional
\nbackers composed of sports organizations and KONI provincial
\nchapters, which meant he had satisfied the requirement of having
\nto be supported by at least 10 backers to run for election.<\/p>\n
Separately, Oyong Karmayuda, the chairman of the seven-strong
\nscreening team, said that only Luhut, Arie, Agum and Sutiyoso had
\nalready secured the required minimum number of backers.<\/p>\n
However, according to Oyong, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, also a
\nretired Army general, had yet to obtain a letter of approval from
\nPresident Megawati, which was imperative for candidates drawn
\nfrom the bureaucracy or legislature.<\/p>\n
Agum submitted his letter of approval from the president on
\nWednesday. However, Oesman Santa, a member of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR), still has not been issued with the
\nrequired presidential approval.<\/p>\n
\"Today is the last day that our team will be working, and we
\nwill submit all seven names to the congress, which will then
\ndecide who is eligible,\" Oyong said.<\/p>",
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