PBSI candidates prepare for election

Damar Harsanto and Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta

The two candidates for the top post at the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) both claimed on Friday to have the support to win Saturday's election.

Sutiyoso, who has received a vote of confidence from several former national players, said as many as 23 provincial chapters backed him to replace Chairul Tanjung as chairman of the PBSI.

Sutiyoso, who was nominated by the Jakarta chapter, will be running against media tycoon Dahlan Iskan, who was nominated by the East Java chapter.

"Last night, I met with representatives from 23 PBSI chapters. This support means they count on me, and I am ready to take it ...," Sutiyoso, who is also the Jakarta governor and the chairman of the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi), said on Friday at City Hall.

However, there are indications that 16 provincial chapters are ready to back Dahlan, which would undercut Sutiyoso's claim of support given that the PBSI only has 29 chapters in 32 provinces throughout the country.

Lutfi Hamid, who chairs the West Java chapter and is also the secretary-general of the PBSI, said Dahlan was the right man for the position.

"He is not a bureaucrat ... so he should have more time to spare for the badminton association," Lutfi said.

He was accompanied by officials from the Banten, East Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan and Bali chapters.

He added that Dahlan had promised to provide about Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million) in funds each year to meet the needs of the PBSI.

A separate meeting between officials from several provincial chapters was held at the Hilton Hotel, where the PBSI's extraordinary meeting will be held on Saturday.

Officials from the East Kalimantan, Bengkulu, South Sulawesi, Gorontalo, East Java, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, Central Java and Central Kalimantan chapters gathered to show their support for Dahlan's nomination.

Chairul Tanjung, who was elected PBSI chairman in 2001, was forced out of the position in the wake of a string of poor performances by the national team.

Earlier in the week, a group of former national players signed a petition in support of Sutiyoso to replace Chairul. The petition signers included eight-time All England champion Rudy Hartono.

Discussing his vision for the association, Sutiyoso said he would work to empower the provincial chapters in an effort to reinvigorate the development of young athletes nationwide.

"The provincial chapters are the ones that locate promising athletes, while the PBSI then recruits them for further training," he said.

Sutiyoso, a retired Army general, said he would relinquish his post at Perbasi to vice chairman Erick Thohir if elected chairman of the PBSI.