National chess body looking for replacement for outgoing boss

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As its top officials look set to resign from their posts in the next term, the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) will have to find replacements.

Chairman Machnan Kamaluddin and his deputy Eka Putra Wirya have, in past and separate occasions, expressed their intention of resigning from their jobs in Percasi.

The parting of the two will officially take effect in June when Percasi holds its congress in the Central Java capital of Semarang to elect a new chairman.

With around two months to go, Percasi has started the hunt for their replacements, which will be no easy task as has been admitted by outgoing secretary-general Djamil Djamal.

"It's not easy to find someone willing to join Percasi. To be a Percasi chairman, one must be willing to produce from one's own pockets some of the money necessary to ensure the success of the programs," Djamil told The Jakarta Post here on Monday.

Machnan, who had been in the understudy role for the preceding three chairmanship terms between 1990 and 2000 when he finally went one step higher to become the chairman, said in one of his media briefings that he had had enough after 12 years with Percasi, and said that he wanted to retire.

Percasi would ideally have turned to Eka, a young businessman who is considered to have contributed the largest amount of financial support for the dispatch of Indonesian teams to international tournaments.

However, Eka, who founded the Utut Adianto Chess School, has decided to call it a day as well, saying that he wanted to focus on his business interests and family. However, he said he would continue to be involved in chess, particularly the youth field.

While having yet to confirm a candidate, Percasi, according to Djamil, is preparing a number of criteria for the next chairman.

Percasi once approached its traditional sponsor, Japfa, but the management rejected the offer.

"One thing which I guess is the most crucial is that the chairman should be able to guarantee that the national programs can run as scheduled," he said.

"This means voluntarily spending some of his money on chess activities," he added.

With no candidates mentioned as a probable successor, Djamil did not rule out a prospect of the congress being held on June 30 without any single candidate having been decided upon.

"The mechanism is that during the congress we will set up a team assigned to come up with a chairman within a specified time," he said.

The Semarang meet will also coincide with the National Championship, which will be the final chance for Percasi to come up with another two candidates to be included in the national team for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam this December.