Pelti fires three officials amid internal disagreements

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) fired three officials on Tuesday after a prolonged dispute in the association.

The deputies to Pelti secretary-general Soegeng Sarjadi, Subiyanto and Benny Mailili, and the official in charge of junior player development, Deddy Prasetyo, received letters notifying them of their dismissal by a courier who claimed he was ordered by Pelti deputy treasurer Tien Indradjit.

Benny told reporters on Wednesday that the letter was an insult to the association's national congress last year which was attended by representatives from its provincial chapters.

"The letter, number 057/1999 dated Oct. 26, says that it cancels the letter number 01/Formatur-Munas/1999 dated Jan. 27, 1999. It means it has dishonored the decision made in the national congress. Based on organization rules, the letter is invalid," he said emotionally.

"In our internal rules, Pelti officials must comprise executive officials and plenary officials, consisting of committees. But the new letter does not contain the names of the plenary officials, and it's against the rules."

He also disputed the correctness of the signature on the dismissal letter.

"The letter is signed by chairman Tanri Abeng instead of secretary-general Soegeng Sarjadi. As far as I know, a decision letter must be signed by the secretary-general instead of the chairman.

"I'm afraid that Pak Tanri, who has been under pressure due to allegations that he was involved in the Bank Bali scandal and his exclusion from the Cabinet, is being used by some people in Pelti, including Tien."

Benny said Tien was openly antagonistic toward the three.

"She accused us of being former chairman Sarwono Kusumaatmadja's lackeys, and she called us bad guys. I don't mind if she calls me a bad guy but I do mind when she drags Pak Sarwono into this problem. Pak Sarwono showed great leadership during his era."

Sarwono was named minister of maritime exploration on Tuesday.

Benny said he and Subiyanto met Soegeng after they heard rumors of a reshuffle among the association's officials, but he quieted their worries..

"Soegeng said on Oct. 5 that both of us remained in our posts as his deputies. On Oct. 7 we asked Pak Tanri to clarify the matter but we never heard anything from him until we received the letter yesterday."

Benny said they would let the provincial chapters decide on the next course of action.

"The chapters can issue notes of disagreement and if the number reaches the quorum of two thirds of 26 chapters, they can stage a special national congress. We will let the officials of the chapters judge on Pelti officials performance so far," he said. (yan)