Executive chairman post called 'disease'

Executive chairman post called 'disease'

JAKARTA (JP): Newly elected Indonesian Tennis Association chief Sarwono Kusumaatmadja has made a striking entry into the public discussion over the organization of the National Sports Council (KONI), which is preparing for the election of its new chairmanship board.

Sarwono said the post of executive chairman was "a disease" in a national sports organization.

"Every sports organization which has an executive chairman is harboring a disease," Sarwono, who is also the Minister of Environment, told reporters at the Senayan indoor tennis stadium yesterday.

"Those holding the posts exercise power but do not have to be responsible for their use of that power," he said.

The Indonesian Tennis Association, which comes under KONI's umbrella, has never elected an executive chairman.

Sarwono quickly added that, while his comment should help explain the absence of the post within the tennis association, it should not be taken as reflecting his views on sports organizations which authorize such posts.

In so saying, Sarwono implicitly threw his weight behind KONI Secretary General Kahpi Suriadiredja.

Kahpi said earlier that, although in principle it was the secretary general who was in charge of KONI's day-to-day activities, in practice it was the executive chairman who dealt with KONI's daily affairs, thus reducing Kahpi's position to a mere secretarial job.

Even then, most letters are opened by the executive chairman, Kahpi said disappointedly, although none of them are addressed to him.

KONI's president Surono appointed Soeweno, former chief of the Army Strategic Command, to the executive chairmanship.

According to KONI's statutes, the job of the secretary general is to act for the executive chairman in the absence of the latter. (arf)