12 September 2012

PENCAK SILAT: Making sound progress on two fronts

The Ministry of Higher Education's efforts to develop pencak silat both as a sport and a relevant industry have found some success.

With the Deputy Prime Minister's Cup International Pencak Silat Tournament in Batu Pahat, Johor on Sept 17-22 set to feature 600 exponents, including 80 representatives from foreign institutes of higher learning, that success will be further established. This will be the third edition of the tournament that was first held in Kulai, Johor in 2010, followed by the second at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur last year. Tun Hussein Onn University Malaysia (UTHM) deputy vice chancellor of student affairs Professor Dr Amir Hisham Mohd Kassim said the growth is particularly seen in the increase in interest from foreign university students.

"While we began with foreign participation from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, this time the number of countries participating will see a significant increase, adding to the prestige of the international category contested in the tournament," said Dr Amir Hisham.

This year's tournament, which will see 44 gold medals contested, will also welcome participation from Brunei, Laos, The Philippines, Belgium and the Netherlands. "We have also made significant progress in promoting the Malay version of silat actively to foreign students attending local universities," said Dr Amir Hisham. "Foreign students have also been given the chance to deepen their knowledge of silat, through placements with traditional silat schools in rural areas."

With 520 Malaysian students competing, the event will also feature medals for top ranked local exponents, while the international category will also see the host contingent defending the overall title they won last year after losing out to Singapore in 2010.

There will also be a category for Malaysia-based foreign students. The gold medals in the Malaysian category will also count towards the medal tally of the Institutes of Higher Learning Games in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 28-Nov 11.

Sourced from http://www.nst.com.my/nation/politics/pencak-silat-making-sound-progress-on-two-fronts-1.142522#ixzz26DvrXaPh

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