Eddy Nalapraya decides to quit as chairman of Persilat

JAKARTA (JP): Incumbent chairman of the International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat) Eddy Nalapraya said he had no intention of running for a fifth successive term.

"I've been the chairman for four periods and I believe it's time for me to resign. Besides, I will be 70 years old next year, and I want to spend more time with my family," he said during a media conference in the lead-up to the 10th World Pencak Silat Championship to be held here in mid-November.

He said he would help Persilat country members find a fit and proper candidate to fill in his shoes.

"I understand that the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) will nominate me for the position. Let's see if we can find someone else to replace me," added Eddy, who is also chairman of IPSI.

He said it was quite difficult to choose a Persilat chairman because according to its statutes, candidates must come from one of Persilat's four founding countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore.

"The regulation is meant to preserve the martial art as a tradition that is rooted in this region of Malay culture. Pencak silat isn't all about sports. It also contains cultural values," he said.

Established in 1980, currently Persilat has 40 country members which are divided into five regions: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Eddy was speaking at the Pencak Silat Center in the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah complex, East Jakarta.

The championship will be held at the center from Nov. 14 through Nov. 19. Persilat will hold its congress to elect a chairman for the next five-year term on Nov. 18.

Meanwhile, in order to attract more spectators to watch the championship, the championship organizing committee has decided to mix it with entertainment.

"We were inspired by the Sydney Olympics, where the organizers managed to blend sporting events with entertainment," said one of the committee members, Rachmat Gobel, also a businessman. He would not elaborate, however.

Noted singers Iis Dahlia, Trio Libels and Yuni Shara will perform in the opening ceremony on Nov. 14

RCTI TV station will broadcast the ceremony and each of the finals live.

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One more vote for silat in Asiad

SEMARANG (JP): Indonesia's traditional martial art and sport needed only one more vote to be staged in the Asian Games after its exhibition session in the Pusan 2002 Asian Games, an official revealed on Wednesday.

"We need 10 votes to secure pencak silat's appearance in the Asiad and we have secured nine votes. Most members of ASEAN have given their votes," chairman of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) Eddy Nalapraya told reporters here.

"We can get one more vote from Vietnam or another country which has pencak silat fighters," he added.

The Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA) sent observers from China, South Korea and Thailand to the June Surabaya National Games (PON) to assess the inclusion of pencak silat. The result was pencak silat to be exhibited in Pusan.

Eddy also revealed that Indonesia will host the world championship in mid November.

"There are 19 countries which have registered for the world championship," he said.

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Sabah silat exponents champs for fourth time

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah were crowned overall champions for the fourth consecutive time in the Malaysian Schools Sport Council Seni Silat (Malay Martial Arts) Championships that ended in Malacca over the weekend.

Sabah bagged six gold medals and two bronzes in the eight categories competed at the four-day tournament held at SM Teknik Jasin.

Sabah's gold medals came in the Seni Tari event through Erma Bakar in the girl's categories, Mohd Shamree Shariansah and Mohd Katta Shariff in the Seni Tempur (boy's categories), Seni Jurus and Seni Gerak events - both in boys and girls.

The Seni Jurus squad comprised Sofian Mijal, Ardiansyah Ibrahim, Mohd Shah Mohd Hatta, Abdul Ahmad Thian (boys) and Sairaheati Mohd Arun, Haryanti Damir, Suraiha Sulaiman and Norseela Abin (girls).

Mohd Fauzan Junaidin (Seni Tari) and the pairs of Siti Norlina Timan and Celestina Kentubong in the Seni Tempur contributed the bronze.

Sabah were led by head of contingent Abdullah bin Hj Ahmad while Kassim bin Putih and Engku Juana Engku Alias acted as team managers for the boys and girls respectively.

Misran bin Mohd Ali and Asmah Paidi were the team coaches while Jinli Ramli and Amir Taba were on the trip as umpire.

Sabah School Sports Council (SSSC) Secretary Tham Yen Fook when met congratulated the team for the job well done.

He also expressed his sincere thanks to all parties concerned such as the school principals, teachers as well as coaches of the athletes for their involvement in the sport.

He urged especially the school principals to give their support to any sporting activities being held in schools.

The first time Sabah walked home with the overall crown was back in 1996 in Kelantan.

They repeated their feat the following year in Pahang. But in 1998, the tournament was put to a halt temporarily due to economic down turn.

Last year, after a one-year lay off, Sabah maintained their supremacy when they lifted the title for the third consecutive years in Sarawak.

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