Syahrir heads climbing club

Syahrir heads climbing club

JAKARTA (JP): The commander of the Army's Special Forces
(Kopassus), Maj. Gen. Syahrir M.S., was elected as the head of
the Indonesian Climbing Federation (FPTI) for the 1999-2002 term,
replacing F. Hendricus Mutter, in a national meeting on Sunday.

Syahrir received 14 out of 20 votes on the last day of the
two-day meeting here, while Hendricus got four and two voters
abstained, Antara reported.

Syahrir's nomination was given full support by the chairman of
National Sports Council (KONI), Wismoyo Arismunandar, who himself
was Kopassus chief from 1983 to 1985.

"I will try to make climbing a competitive sport in the PON
(National Sports Week) in 2000 in Surabaya, and will discuss the
preparations with the KONI chairman in the near future, because
we only have six months left," the two-star general said.

He also pledged to produce world-class climbers. "We plan to
build another climbing school either in Aceh or Irian Jaya." he
said. "Nepal is a small country but they are famous for their
climbers."

Indonesia has several climbing schools, such as the Skygers
Climbing School in West Java. (ivy)