No national congress needed to change Tanri, says KONI
JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council (KONI) secretary-general Rudolf S Warouw said on Monday there was no need for the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) to call a national congress in the wake of Pelti chairman Tanri Abeng being named a suspect in the Bank Bali scandal.
Pelti spokesman Benny Mailili said on Monday none of the association's officials were disturbed by news that Tanri had been named a suspect in the scandal, and there had been no requests to meet with him for clarification.
Attorney General's Office spokesman Soehandoyo said on Friday an investigative team led by Chairul Imam had found "enough preliminary evidence" to name Tanri, a former state minister of the empowerment of state enterprises, and Bank Indonesia executive Erman Munzir as suspects in the Rp 540 billion (US$75 million) scandal.
Warouw said that although Tanri was named a suspect in the scandal, he had not been proven guilty.
"If Pelti wants to appoint a caretaker to enable Tanri to concentrate on his case, it is their decision. But they don't have to hold a special national congress.
"I believe Pelti's programs won't be influenced by the absence of its chairman," he said.
Benny said: "We are coolheaded here. We met Pak Tanri during a meeting before Idul Fitri to decide to hold a post-Idul Fitri gathering here on Jan. 22. He did not even show up to the gathering."
Benny said Pelti's provincial chapters should take the initiative of asking for a special national congress if they wished to elect a new chairman.
However, chapter 9, section 2 of Pelti's statute states that if the chairman can not complete their term, they may be replaced by any of the association's other 12 officials.
"Or he can appoint a caretaker to continue his duties. Another way is to return the mandate to the congress and let the members of the congress name a new chairman," Benny said.
He also said that none of the association's chapters had requested a special national congress. The congress must be demanded by at least two-thirds of Pelti's 26 chapters.
"The chapters could demand a substitute for Tanri if he quits his post due to his involvement in the scandal. In this case, we have not received such a request from our regional chapters," he said.
Warouw expressed hope Tanri could resolve the difficulties he was currently facing and concentrate on developing tennis in the country.
"We are very sorry about his troubles and we hope that such a scandal won't recur in the future. KONI doesn't have the authority to control (sports officials) in their work. We can only supervise their activities in the sports organizations," he said.
Tanri is not the first sports official to become embroiled in scandal. KONI's treasurer was also named a suspect in the Bank Bali scandal, and last year then attorney general Andi Muhammad Ghalib was alleged to have received money from businessmen The Nin King and Prajogo Pangestu, whom the Attorney General's Office was investigating at the time.
Separately, Warouw said KONI would send a letter to the Ministry of Finance requesting that import taxes on sports equipment be waived. Currently, sports equipment are classified as luxury items and assessed a 200 percent import tax.
KONI internal auditor chairman I Gede Putu Ary Suta will lead a special team which will meet with the minister of finance to discuss the matter, he said. (ivy/yan)