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)