PBVSI steering body to select alternative chief

PBVSI steering body to select alternative chief

JAKARTA (JP): A steering committee member of the Indonesian
Volleyball Association (PBVSI) national congress, Ahmed Solihin,
said on Friday that the committee would select another candidate
for its chairmanship if the two-day congress ended in a deadlock.

"Mbak Tutut (current PBVSI chairwoman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana)
has agreed to be reelected on the condition that she is elected
by all of the association's 26 members," he said.

"If some PBVSI provincial chapters are against her reelection,
then we will have to offer another candidate. That's why we met
National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo this morning, to ask
whether he would be willing to chair the organization."

Ahmed said Rusdihardjo had yet to give an answer but the
general was not a stranger to the volleyball community as he used
to chair the Yogyakarta chapter.

"Pak Rusdihardjo said he really appreciated his candidacy, but
he was unable to give an immediate answer as he must consult his
staff on the necessity and the advantage of chairing PBVSI," he
said.

"PBVSI thinks that the police chief chairing the association
would be advantageous to the sport's development as volleyball is
the number two favorite sport in the country here after soccer.

"If each police precinct chief could support volleyball
development in his area, I believe many people would become very
enthusiasm about playing volleyball."

Earlier, steering committee chairman Sutardiono said Tutut had
declined reelection due to her position in society after her
father, former president Soeharto, was forced to step down in
1998 and due to her business commitments.

"The best way is to unite the two. One of them could chair the
organization while another could be the chief patron. If we do it
that way, the congress participants must be willing to accept the
PBVSI statute's on the chairmanship," Ahmed said.

The congress will take place on Saturday and Sunday and will
be preceded by a small party to celebrate PBVSI's 44th
anniversary. (yan)