PABBSI urged to let bodybuilders go it alone

PABBSI urged to let bodybuilders go it alone

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Sports Council (KONI) is pushing for bodybuilding to
be released from the auspices of the Indonesian Weightlifting,
Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) to allow local
bodybuilders to return to international multievent competition.

"We just hope that PABBSI will have the heart to release
bodybuilding from the association, so that bodybuilders could
participate in multievent competitions like the Southeast Asia
(SEA) Games," KONI chairman Agum Gumelar said on Tuesday ahead of
the association's national meeting on Saturday in Jakarta.

PABBSI's membership in the Asian Bodybuilding Federation
(ABBF) and the International Bodybuilding Federation (IBBF) were
revoked in September last year after it emerged the association
supported Musclemania, an international bodybuilding event that
the ABBF and IBBF do not endorse.

Indonesian bodybuilders have since been barred from multievent
international sporting competitions like the SEA Games and the
Asian Games.

ABBF and IBBF sanctioned the establishment of the Indonesian
Bodybuilding Federation (FBI), which held the Asian Bodybuilding
Championships in Bali in June.

However, KONI has yet to recognize the new federation.

Agum said PABBSI only gained new membership through its
association with Musclemania, but added that would be meaningless
if Indonesian bodybuilders were still banned from taking part in
multievent competitions.

"Our orientation is the SEA Games, we hope PABBSI understands
that," he said.

The SEA Games, Southeast Asia's most important sporting event
held every four years, is scheduled for the Philippines in
November this year. Indonesia, along with Thailand, has
traditionally been the major sporting powerhouse at the Games,
although other countries have vied for the top of the medal
standings in recent events.

Separately, PABBSI secretary-general Alamsyah Wijaya said that
the association would have to decide whether to follow Agum's
request at its national meeting later this week.

"PABBSI must be realistic about the bodybuilding situation at
present. But people must understand that only our regional
chapters have the say on whether to release bodybuilding or not,"
he said.