Sports tradition

From Neraca

Allow me first to congratulate Mr. Rahardi Ramelan for being reelected chairman of the All-Indonesia Swimming Association (PRSI) at the association's national conference in Jakarta. In his address, Rahardi said that he was ready to be reelected after the other four candidates stated that they were not ready to replace him.

The other four candidates were Adm. Widodo A.S. (Indonesian Military [TNI] commander), Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (minister of mines and energy), Yusuf Kalla (minister of industry and trade) and Arifin Panigoro (businessman). According to Rahardi, these candidates said they were not ready to replace him either because they were too busy or because they were not familiar with the sport.

Rahardi said he had written a letter to these four candidates before the national conference began and was told that the four of them could not replace him because of the reasons referred to above. "I respect these figures because, although they are not ready to lead PRSI, they have responded to my letter," Rahardi said.

What I am concerned about is the rejection from the four figures. Why so? Rahardi's statement must have been made after a board meeting was held. In this case, it seems the tradition that a sports association must be led by a government official still remains.

Although Arifin Panigoro is not a government official, he must have been approached as one of the candidates because he is an important figure in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which won the general election and now holds a majority in the House of Representatives.

In this context, still fresh in our minds is the "tragedy" concerning former attorney general Andi M. Ghalib. He was put in a difficult position when he was considered as having "pressured" several businessmen to help finance the All-Indonesia Wrestling Association (PGSI) under his chairmanship.

It cannot be legally proved that the "donation" from Prajogo Pangestu to an account in Andi M. Ghalib's name, claimed to be a PGSI account, is closely linked with the status of Prajogo as a suspect. However, the latter's case was then being handled by the Attorney General's Office, and the public cannot but believe that in this respect there was a hand-in-glove game.

We don't seem to have learned from the fact that entrusting the chairmanship of a sports organization to a government official means opening up an opportunity for cheating because government officials usually have businessmen as partners.

However, we must congratulate Rahardi, who is now no longer a government official. May his leadership lead to new professionalism in the management of sports organizations.

M. Sujal

Pondok Aren, Tangerang