Ex-intel chief to helm Indonesian athletics body

JAKARTA: A former military top brass was unanimously picked to helm the Indonesian track and field association, replacing Muhammad “Bob” Hasan who died earlier this year.

Major General (Rtd) Zacky Anwar Makarim, formerly the head of Indonesia’s military intelligence, will take charge until the term expires for the association at the end of this year, according to The Jakarta Post.

Zacky’s key task is to prepare athletes for competitions, particularly the Tokyo Olympics next year, and hold the fort before a new set of leaders are appointed through a congress, slated around December.

Secretary-general Tigor Tanjung said the absence of a chief figure would hamper the funding disbursement process from the government to the association in relation to athletes’ preparations and training programmes for the Olympics.

“We are going to organise a national training camp in the immediate future. Thus, Zacky’s presence is pivotal for the association as we are going to need government funding to run those programmes,” Tigor said on Thursday.

Zacky, an uncle of Education Minister Nadiem Makarim, said leadership was crucial for the association as it was expected to maintain its performance despite the lack of funds and disruption in the competition schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Despite the problems, we are going to move forward with our planned schedules,” Zacky said.

Sprinter Lalu Muhammad Zohri is the only Indonesian athlete to secure his place at the Olympics through his 10.03-second achievement in the 2019 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, last year.

The World Athletics body previously announced that the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers would be postponed from April to December this year.