KONI waits for IOC letter on Bob Hasan's fate

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)