Prabowo urges pencak silat warriors to defend truth and the weak

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto, who also serves as the General Chairman of the Central Board of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (PB IPSI), urged pencak silat warriors to always defend truth, the weak, and the oppressed. “A knight, a warrior always defends the truth, always defends the weak, always defends the oppressed, always defends justice, always defends truth. A warrior always stays on the good path, the straight path,” said Prabowo while opening the XVI National Conference (Munas) of PB IPSI at JCC Senayan, Jakarta, on Saturday. In his speech, the President emphasised that a warrior must uphold the values of courtesy as part of culture, and possess courage without arrogance. Warriors were also reminded to maintain their behaviour, both in speech and attitude, and to stay on the good and straight path. Prabowo conveyed that these teachings are values passed down by pencak silat teachers as well as gurus from various martial arts disciplines he has studied. Martial arts knowledge, according to him, is intended to defend oneself, family, community, and nation. “All teachers teach that this knowledge is for defending yourself, defending your family, defending your village, defending your community, defending your nation,” he said. Furthermore, the President also touched on the long history of the Indonesian nation, which has often faced disturbances from foreign nations due to its natural wealth. Prabowo described the character of Indonesian society as friendly and open to guests, but ultimately having to resist those who come and do not leave. On that occasion, the President also discussed the journey of pencak silat, which was once banned during the colonial era, so training was conducted secretly in various places such as villages, hills, and prayer halls. That condition, according to him, made pencak silat once viewed as a village sport. “That’s why pencak silat was once considered a village sport because it was banned by colonisers in the cities, so those learning pencak silat went to villages, to rural areas, to mountains. The training was done secretly, the knowledge secretly, many techniques that weren’t allowed to be seen,” he stated. On that occasion, Prabowo also announced his decision to no longer serve as General Chairman of PB IPSI after being involved in the organisation for about 34 years. He stated that he would continue to support pencak silat, with or without the position. The President also expressed an apology for not yet succeeding in bringing pencak silat to the Olympics. However, Prabowo is optimistic that the next leadership will be able to achieve that. “I believe my successor will succeed in bringing it to the Olympics, I believe. I don’t know if you already have an idea of who you will choose as my replacement. I suggest you look for the best candidate,” he concluded.