Sutiyoso cancels meetings for congress

JAKARTA: Governor Sutiyoso has canceled all of his appointments from Tuesday until Thursday as he is concentrating on the congress of the National Sports Council (KONI) in which he is the one of the candidates to head the council.

Sutiyoso, for example, canceled a planned meeting on Tuesday afternoon with the tax director general, to request tax exemption for Tanah Abang traders following the Feb. 19 fire.

He, however, had a meeting with the traders later in the evening to announce that they were allowed to resume trading within the market complex instead of at a distant location.

On Wednesday, the canceled meetings include a courtesy call by the Cuban ambassador, a meeting on urban pedestrians with noted urban designer Muhammad Danisworo, and an interview by a Peruvian TV station.

The election for KONI chairman starts at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

"If Pak Sutiyoso is elected as KONI chairman, I am afraid we will have to reschedule more meetings for the rest of the week," city spokesman Muhayat told reporters. -- JP