PSSI Secretary General Selection Process Might Be Compromised: Source
Jakarta. The Indonesian Football Association, or PSSI, is in the process of selecting a candidate to become the association's next secretary general, but the selection has been deemed "unreliable" by a source close to the matter.
The association opted to stage a public selection to appoint its next secretary general and administered a psychological aptitude test to the candidates on Monday (22/05) in Jakarta. By Wednesday, the selection narrowed to only five, and interviews were conducted by PSSI's executive committee.
The finalists include Liga 1 executive Ratu Tisha Destria, former PSSI deputy Rudolf Paulus Yesayas, BMI Consulting human resource director Alvin Papatria, PSS Sleman club consultant Alief Syachviar and former politician Norman Tri Aprianto.
Sport writers have heavily predicted that Ratu Tisha has the greatest chance to fill the post, though the association has said it will not announce the selected candidate until June.
"The fact that the selection is open to the public is good, but its objectivity is not reliable as no one can guarantee that the process is fair," dismissed candidate Eddy Sofyan, the former national team coach, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.
"The power of some stakeholders at PSSI can really influence the process," he added.
Asked if rumors that the selected candidate had already been chosen long before the selection began, Eddy said: "I heard that, but I don't know whether it's true or not."
Eddy, who ran in the PSSI chairman election last year, argued that the association still has a long way to go to gain the public's trust.
"I believe PSSI has not improved and has yet to gain the public's trust, as I see almost all of its elite executives are from the old regime, except the chairman himself [Edy Rahmayadi]."
"Their work ethic are still the same, they do not have a long-term orientation way of thinking. Football can't be driven in the short term," he said.
Divided Opinions
Meanwhile, favored candidate Ratu Tisha believes that the selection process has been fair.
"The test was quite difficult, and obviously takes money to conduct, so I believe it's impossible that it's only a formality," Ratu told Goal.com on Wednesday after completing the association's third test.
"I believe Mr. Edy [Rahmayadi] will select the winner based on the test results," she added.
With chairman Edy still serving in an official capacity at the Indonesian Military (TNI), PSSI secured help from the army's psychology department to conduct some of its tests, including one leaderless group discussion.
All 32 candidates had previously undergone a medical test.
"I think the selection is fair because all candidates had equal opportunities and it could be reliable enough, as PSSI involved professional psychologists to assess us," dismissed candidate Irman Jayawardhana explained to the Jakarta Globe on Friday.
"I believe it wasn't simulated," he insisted.
However, Irman believes the association still has time to prove it has conducted an objective, fair selection process.
"PSSI has not shown any real breakthrough, or any significant changes as yet."
The association has been entangled in ethical wrongdoing in recent years, including in 2015 when Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi banned the organization because of disputes between PSSI and the government.
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