Jakarta – The government made its boldest move in the drama surrounding the country's soccer association on Monday by denouncing its leaders and suspending all financial support.
The move followed a chaotic Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) congress in Pekanbaru last week during which a set of rules and plans for electing a new chairman were to be decided. The congress ended with top PSSI executives fleeing after a group of reformists took over the proceedings.
The coup was in response to PSSI executives barring entry to six members with voting rights due to past disputes. In the absence of the executives, the congress – attended by 78 out of 100 PSSI vote holders – appointed 12 members of an executive committee that would be responsible for the upcoming election on April 29.
In a Monday press briefing, Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Andi Malarangeng, who is known to be at odds with PSSI executives, said the government was waiting for FIFA's final say on the validity of the congress in Riau.
However, in a pretext to prevent "more failures" in further proceedings pertinent to the election, Andi said the government was denouncing the current leadership of PSSI.
"The government hereby declares that it no longer acknowledges the leadership of the PSSI under its chairman Nurdin Halid and secretary-general Nugraha Besoes and all sports activities held under that leadership." Andi also said the central or regional governments, as well as the National Police, could no longer facilitate PSSI activities under the leadership of Nurdin and Nugraha.
"The government is temporarily halting all fund disbursements from the state budget until a new PSSI leadership is formed for the 2011-2015 period," he added.
Andi said it was the government's prerogative to make such a decision under the 2005 Law on the National Sports System. The decision, he added, "has been made for the sake of saving the PSSI and protecting national soccer."
Previously in Riau, Nugraha said the decision to cancel the meeting was made based on a recommendation by FIFA representative Frank van Hattum, who was scheduled to attend the congress.
On this note, however, FIFA responded by saying that Van Hattum was prevented from observing the PSSI congress in Pekanbaru on March 26 by the PSSI leadership.
"The claim from the PSSI secretary-general that it was FIFA who decided to cancel the PSSI Congress for alleged security reasons is completely false. On the contrary, the FIFA observer repeatedly requested to go to the congress venue and was prevented in doing so by the PSSI leadership," said FIFA in a letter signed by its media department.
The letter further stated that van Hattum was expected to write an assessment on what happened in Riau and submit it to the relevant body for consideration.
The conflict within PSSI intensified in early February when the PSSI verification team excluded two prominent figures – oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro and Indonesian Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta – from the race for the chairmanship of the national soccer body, while allowing only current chairman Nurdin Halid and businessman Nirwan D. Bakrie to run for the next term.
The decision triggered protests around Indonesia, with protesters slamming Nurdin, an ex-graft convict, for the lackluster performance of the Indonesian soccer team during his two terms as PSSI chairman, particularly since FIFA regulations forbid anyone with a criminal record from holding such a post.
In a letter addressed to the PSSI secretariat manager, FIFA criticized the failure to comply with FIFA standard codes for selection processes. The letter was dated March 25 and was cc-ed to several PSSI and FIFA executives.
Furious over Andi's statement, Nurdin lambasted him at a press briefing later in the day, saying that he was an incompetent minister and requested that the President oust Andi from the Cabinet.
"There is no [law stating] the PSSI must be acknowledged by the government. No [law] requires government approval of [PSSI] leadership," he said.
Nurdin claimed that he still held the authority and mandate to lead the PSSI. He insisted that the government's move was unauthorized and should not be acknowledged by the PSSI.
Voicing the concerns of other PSSI executives, Nurdin condemned the presence of military personnel at last week's congress. The executives accused former chairman candidate George of sending troops to pressure an opposing party within the association.
The National Police have issued a statement confirming that they requested assistance from the military to secure the congress.
"We didn't want to take any risks. We thank the military for their help," National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said.