Proposals to PSSI

Proposals to PSSI

From Media Indonesia

I was astonished to read in Media Indonesia of Sept. 9 about the appointment of Agum Gumelar as chairman of the All Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI). How could an active, highly ranked Armed Forces officer afford the time to bring order to the chaotic state of PSSI? The Armed Forces itself is currently having a hard to time to uphold credibility.

First, I am taken aback that Minister of Defense and Security/ Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto is allowing one of his generals to busy himself with soccer while the Armed Forces is currently facing problems of national security that have apparently reached a critical stage, only with the reason that managing soccer is a state duty.

Second, I did not think that soccer would be on the priority list of National Resilience Institute Governor Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar, who should be busy with planning/leading the management of a national resilience system, to normalize conditions in the country.

Third, I am astonished at statements made by Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso and Arie Sudewo on the capabilities of Agum Gumelar to raise funds. Frankly, I am worried that such fund raising will cause high costs, so that eventually, the public will be the ones to suffer because of it.

Fourth, I appeal to Gen. Wiranto to reconsider the appointment of Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar as PSSI chairman. Would it not be much better to assign him to first plan a strategy for the restoration of the Armed Forces' credibility (which is, according to Gen. Bambang Yudhoyono, at its lowest point), then plan a strategy to settle the problems of Aceh, East Timor, Irian Jaya, Lampung, the Tanjung Priok incident and other problems which are still being questioned.

Fifth, I appeal to PSSI to look for a professional manager in soccer organization and not to choose from the military because there is a distinct difference between civilian and military characteristics. If there is no such manager here, just hire someone from abroad if the necessary funds are available. I recall that PSSI was good when led by Maladi, a civilian. It was under him that Indonesia performed very well at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, when Indonesia held the strong Soviet team to a draw.

However, if there is the wish for a military man in PSSI's top position, why not contact Prabowo Subianto? Is he not a military officer who is responsible, smart, creative and who may be able to look for funds, or has his own private funds?

ASEP SALMON

Bandung, West Java