Hedijanti elected table tennis chief
Hedijanti elected table tennis chief
JAKARTA (JP): Siti Hedijanti Prabowo finally joined the elite of national sports yesterday when she was elected the new chairperson of the Indonesian Table Tennis Association.
The daughter of President Soeharto won a majority of votes in the association's national meeting which was attended by representatives of 22 provinces yesterday to replace long-time chairman Ali Said.
Delegations from South Sumatra and Yogyakarta were the only ones to ask Ali to stay on for what would have been a fifth successive four-year term.
The congressmen also decided to give Ali, who attended the meeting with a breathing device, the title of "father of national table tennis."
Hedijanti, widely known as mbak Titiek, is the third member of the first family to take the helm of a sport organization. Her elder sister, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, was inducted as the chairperson of the Indonesian Volleyball Association last month.
Their younger brother, Hutomo Mandala Putra, chaired the Indonesian Motorsport Association from 1990 to 1994.
Udin M. Muslaini, who presided over the meeting, told reporters during the coffee break that 10 representatives of the association had contacted Hedijanti's secretary to ask for her approval to lead the association.
"Actually we had contacted Ibu Titiek directly twice. The first time was on Friday night and the second this morning," he said.
"She said that she would chair the organization as long as the meeting wanted her to," he said.
Hedijanti was hotly favored last January to chair the Indonesian Swimming Federation in place of Sanjoto Sastrowardojo, but she refused.
Speculations
Hedijanti herself did not actually show up at yesterday's meeting, provoking speculation that she would refuse the nomination. She is still in Japan and is expected to return home tonight.
Ali, a former Attorney General, who is linked to Hedijanti's nomination, denied that he had personally approached her.
"If the congressmen want her to chair the association, then they have to try to get her answer themselves," he said.
A throng of people came up to Udin to find out the outcome of the meeting.
The congress also ordered Hedijanti, Ali and the Jakarta representative Suprawito, who is also North Jakarta's mayor, to team up to form the association's cabinet.
There is no deadline for the job, however.
"It depends on the team, when they are ready to announce the line-up of the association's leadership board," Udin said, shrugging off mounting complaint from participants who want the trio to complete the line-up in a months time.
An award presentation for the 10 most distinguished figures of the association ended yesterday's meeting. Outgoing secretary- general Johnny Waworuntu and a number of players such as Rossy Pratiwi Dipoyanti, Anton Suseno, Mulatsih and Hadi Yudo, were among the recipients of the Madya Utama award. (05)