SINGAPORE – The 20th World Pencak Silat Championships and 5th World Junior Pencak Silat Championships, originally scheduled for Dec 27-31 at the OCBC Arena, have been cancelled, according to the sport’s world body.
In a letter dated Nov 29 addressed to its members that was posted on Malaysia’s National Silat Federation Facebook page, the International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat) said that the Singapore Silat Federation (SSF) has declined to host both events as it was “facing internal organisation challenges”.
Persilat also urged its members to “pray for SSF to overcome this challenging time for the best”.
On Silat Australia’s Facebook page, it posted a letter SSF had wrote to Persilat on Nov 26 to inform them it had “made the difficult decision to postpone the championships”.
It added: “While we recognise that this news can be disappointing, we hope you understand and respect our decision. We apologise to those who have made special arrangements to participate and be present for the event.”
The Straits Times has reached out to both SSF and Persilat for comment.
These announcements come after SSF chief executive Sheik Alau’ddin Yacoob Marican, a two-time world champion and winner of four Coach of the Year gongs at the Singapore Sports Awards, was arrested on Nov 23 for suspected criminal breach of trust.
An SSF spokesperson had confirmed that Sheik “is assisting the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) with investigations, following a police report filed by the SSF in February 2023 over financial irregularities in the organisation”, and it will cooperate with the CAD throughout its investigations where necessary.
ST had reported in February that the SSF filed a police report against its finance director, following allegations of irregular salary payments to some coaches. He was then suspended before leaving in March. SSF said then that it was told by national agency Sport Singapore that there were irregularities in its financial practices.
Subsequent checks revealed information that was “cause for serious concern”, and the SSF added it would review its internal processes and strengthen the system.
The Republic has hosted the competition in 1988, 2004 and in 2018 and preparations for the upcoming championships had been under way, with SSF hiring a public relations agency to support the event.
A media day on Nov 24 was to be helmed by Sheik. He had been expected to explain new rules for both tournaments in Singapore but journalists were informed a day before that the session had to be rescheduled.
At the 2022 World Pencak Silat Championships in Melaka, Singapore won four gold, five silver and eight bronze medals. More than 500 exponents from 40 countries had featured in Malaysia and a similar number was expected in Singapore.
The news of the cancellation will come as disappointment for national athletes, who had previously spoken of their excitement of competing on home soil.
Singapore had won 11 golds, five silvers and five bronzes at the Nov 9-12 Asian Pencak Silat Championships in Dubai to finish as overall champions.
Sheik Ferdous Sheik Alau’ddin, who won a world title in 2018 and is one of Sheik Alau’ddin’s sons, had said after claiming the Best Athlete award at the Asian Championships: “I hope to win in the world championships and remain victorious for many years to come.”
