Volleyball body needs strong leader: Kunarto

Volleyball body needs strong leader: Kunarto

JAKARTA (JP): The first part of a fish to decompose is its
head, or so a Dutch saying goes.

"The same holds true for a sports organization like the one
whose chairmanship I am about to give up," Gen. (ret) Kunarto,
chairman of the Indonesian Volleyball Association, told reporters
yesterday.

"I am not good enough to lift national volleyball to a new
high and I never will be. I know my abilities. I can no longer
cope with the sport's rapid development and increasingly tighter
competition," he said.

"Moreover, as a Supreme Audit Agency official, by law I am not
allowed to hold any positions in any organizations which make use
of state money," he added.

So was the way Kunarto, former chief of the National Police
who is also deputy chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency,
expressed his intention of resigning at the association's 16th
national congress in Sentul, West Java, scheduled to start on
Monday.

One of the congress' main aims will be to finalize rule
decisions for the Indonesian Volleyball League, a merging of
Livokarya inter-company clubs and Livotama intercity clubs. The
league was formally set up on Oct. 5 last year and is chaired by
Maj. Gen. Hadiman.

The league's ruling on transfer fees to be paid by a company
club which buys out a player of a city club is expected to
highlight the discussion. Spikers are barred from playing for
more than one club.

But the most fascinating congress issue will be Kunarto's
nomination of Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, President Soeharto's
eldest daughter and patron of the Indonesian Beach Volleyball
Association since 1992, to replace him.

"The last time I met her, in a meeting in her house a few days
after she attended the 15th leg of the World Beach Volleyball
Championship in Bali in October last year, I told her to replace
me," Kunarto recalled.

"She did not exactly say yes, but from her body language I
know she will. I have known her for quite a long time and I can't
be wrong in taking for granted that she is willing and able,"
Kunarto said.

Criticism

"She chairs many organizations and none of them perform
poorly. She meets the five requirements a good chairperson should
have: professionalism, excellent leadership and public relations
skills, strong financial backup and respect," he added.

Explaining that he was no longer the right man for the
association's top job, Kunarto made special reference to the poor
showing of the Indonesian teams at the just concluded 18th
Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The national men's team managed only a bronze medal while the
women's team was ousted in the qualifying rounds. Indonesian male
spikers, the defending champions, were upset by Myanmar in a
thrilling five-setter in the final group match before being
whipped by host Thailand in the semifinal.

"They were not our best teams, but we had no choice. Senior
members of the men's team, for instance, lacked discipline and
disobeyed their coaches," Kunarto complained. He declined to
mention their names.

"I knew this too late. I could do nothing but send them to
Chiang Mai. They underestimated Myanmar, ignored teamwork, tried
to zero in on attacks by themselves and were beaten."

"As for the women's team, we had to include inexperienced
players because senior and better players such as Anna Manoppo
supported a coach who challenged me," Kunarto said.

Despite the SEA Games failure, Kunarto said he had
achievements that he was proud of during his four-year term: the
compilation of the Indonesian volleyball guidebook and the
setting up of a modern volleyball training center in Sentul, West
Java. (arf)