KONI waits for IOC letter on Bob Hasan's fate

JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) will wait for an official letter from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the fate of Indonesia's timber tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan's membership after being convicted of corruption.

Hasan, who has been an IOC member since 1994, was sentenced to two years after being found guilty of stealing US$75 million in forestry funds from the Ministry of Forestry. He, however, was exonerated from charges of fraudulent use of $168 million funds for aerial mapping conducted by his company between 1989 and 1999.

"KONI will wait for the IOC official letter questioning Bob's conviction. IOC can't take its own decision without clarifying it with KONI," KONI's deputy of foreign affairs, Oyong Karmayudha, told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have yet to discuss the matter but our stance is clear. The legal process is yet to finish as Bob has appealed to the higher court. We will leave it up to the IOC if the higher court decides that he is guilty."

Oyong was responding to the IOC ethics commission which announced on Tuesday during an executive meeting in Dakar that it would investigate the two-year jail term set for Bob.

The independent commission was also set up to keep a close eye on activities of members after the Salt Lake City bribery scandal which erupted in 1998 and led to 10 members leaving the organization for breaking rules on accepting gifts from the U.S. city when it was bidding to stage the 2002 Winter Games.

The affair was the biggest bribery scandal in the history of the Olympic movement.

The commission does not have the power to impose sanctions but it can make recommendations to the IOC's ruling executive board about sanctions, which range from a reprimand to expulsion from the organization.

Under the Olympic Charter, an IOC member can be expelled if he or she "neglected or knowingly jeopardized the interests of the IOC or has acted in a way which is unworthy of the IOC."

IOC director general Francois Carrard declined to speculate on what action the ethics commission might take.

"The ethics commission is totally independent," he said, as quoted by Reuters. "They will be looking for appropriate information about the two cases. They will determine what conclusions and recommendations to make to the IOC. It's up to them. They have the absolute freedom to act."

The seven-person commission is headed by Keba Mbaye, an IOC vice president from Senegal and a former world court judge. The panel has four non-IOC members, including former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker and former U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.

OCA

Hasan's position as vice president of the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA) for the Southeast Asian region is also in doubt as OCA members have repeatedly questioned his absence in the association's events due to his involvement in legal proceedings.

"In the case of his membership in the OCA, I've been told that President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait has guaranteed that Bob's position will not be replaced," Oyong said.

"Should Bob decided to resign from his post, there will be a new nomination process from Southeast Asian countries. And it is likely that Tengku Imran of Malaysia will be the strongest candidate to replace him."

Oyong said the replacement would not take place automatically because the vacant position had to be renominated and all countries could submit candidates.

"We have an example of the late Myrna Sukasah who was a member of the OCA's athlete committee. Indonesia can't automatically appoint someone else to replace her because we have to follow the nomination process."

"And there isn't any guarantee at all our representative will be chosen. It will also depend on our lobbying with other countries to support our nomination."

"The OCA membership is very advantageous unlike membership in the IOC which gives no clear technical advantages for us. It only gives us a sense of pride."

"That's why KONI should get more of its active representatives in world sports bodies in order to represent our interests." (nvn)