Joko Driyono (Seto Wardhana)

The police’s recent move to name acting chief of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Joko Driyono, a suspect over allegations that he masterminded a string of illegal actions to destroy evidence was widely praised, but according to some, still leaves everything in the dark.

“The police’s latest action deserves praise but internal action to make sure the PSSI gets on the right track remains to be seen. We are still in the dark here,” the PSSI’s West Java branch chief, Tommy Apriantono, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Tommy went on to say that what would happen in the next day or two would give a more complete picture of the direction the organization would take following the acting chief being named a suspect. Joko will be questioned by the police as a suspect on Monday.

The PSSI executive committee members will meet and consider organizing a preliminary meeting that would organize an election committee. This committee would later on serve in the extraordinary meeting, which will be tasked with appointing the new chiefs and executive committee members.

Tommy acknowledged that time was against them as the next tournament would kick off right after the April 17 general election.

“We are facing a trickle-down effect. With the absence of the acting chief, it is likely that tournament major sponsors will be reluctant to pledge their support. This could pose a serious threat to tournaments. Therefore, we have no option but to move fast with this agenda,” he said.

However, this time would be different and even pose harder challenges, he added, as through the meetings, PSSI stakeholders should make sure that whoever is elected to the PSSI management board would uphold integrity and competency.

Tommy said the head of the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin national campaign team, Erick Thohir, was among those who was being seriously considered.

“Aside from an excellent track record on integrity and competency, Erick upholds independence. That is precisely what we need from a chief figure,” he said.

Erick previously commented on this. He said he was still focusing on his current duty as national campaign team head right now.

“I am occupied until April. Let’s talk about it after that,” he said as quoted by tempo.co.

Aside from choosing the right chief, Tommy added, it was also pivotal to appoint the members of the executive committee as they would serve the “neck” of the organization, serving as strategic advisors for many crucial decisions.

Indonesian Soccer Community coordinator Emerson Yuntho, on the other hand, demanded that Joko resign from his current position as acting chief. He also encouraged the PSSI not to wait for the general election and to conduct the extraordinary meeting immediately.

Emerson also asked the police to seriously consider arresting Joko Driyono, as his charges carried a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

“The police have a justified reason here, as the suspect could carry out further actions to destroy evidence. Therefore arrest is the proper action to take,” he said.

Despite the police having named Joko a suspect, Emerson admitted that the road was still long, as he said serious damage had been done within the PSSI.

Joko is the 15th suspect named by the police in relation with their investigation into match fixing practices. Previously, the police named three people, namely Muhammad MM a.k.a. Dani, Musmuliadi and Abdul Gofur. During the questioning, the three admitted that they were ordered by Joko to destroy documents.

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