Silat team fulfils medal target despite technical issues: Dr Ripin

MIRI: Despite encountering technical issues during the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) tournament, the Sarawak pencak silat team successfully concluded the competition and met their medal target, said Datuk Dr Ripin Lamat.

The Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development said that one of the challenges encountered was related to the quality of the judging.

“Firstly, I would like to congratulate all our athletes, even though we faced some issues with the judging quality, which we feel has been questioned extensively before.

“Such problems have affected the chances and potential of our talented athletes, and we hope that future events will see improvements and enhancements in the judging quality.

“Furthermore, I also hope that the National Silat Federation of Malaysia (PESAKA) will take this matter seriously and address them in future sports events,” he said at a press conference after witnessing the finals of the silat tournamant at the Miri Indoor Stadium yesterday (Aug 23).

Dr Ripin, who is assistant chef de mission (ACDM) for the Sarawak silat contingent said a review of the sports development programmes will be conducted.

“We see that many people are behind our team and (supporting) other competing teams.

“This clearly demonstrates the interest of the public and the younger generation in pencak silat.

“Additionally, this review will help strengthen our pencak silat team further,” he explained.

Also present were the head coach of Sarawak pencak silat, Fadzil Jamain, and the assistant team manager, Mohamad Azahar Bujang.