MIRI: All pencak silat events at the Miri Indoor Stadium scheduled from Thursday (Aug 22) through the end of the competition on Aug 23 will proceed without spectators.
The decision follows the identification of individuals who threw a plastic bottle and cup into the arena during a women’s 45kg quarter-final match.
Kamarul Ariffin, the head of technical delegate for the 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMA) pencak silat confirmed that only those with passes-such as volunteers, medical staff, media personnel, and security officers-will be allowed entry.
“Athletes who are spectators will also be segregated and placed near VIP areas to ensure safety and prevent them from roaming the stadium.
“The match result between Sarawak’s Iman Syakilla Mahdi and the Federal Territories’ Nurin Alyaa’ Damia remains unchanged, but the Federal Territories have been declared the winner by agreement of both coaches,” he told a press conference yesterday (Aug 21) after the uproar at the stadium.
Kamarul added that all team managers have agreed to take action against those responsible for the earlier incident, adding that based on the International Silat Federation rules, the perpetrator will receive a warning, and if the behaviour continues, they will be removed from the stadium until the end of the competition.
For the record, Sarawak were behind the Federal Territories 65-70 with 14 seconds remaining, with the latter awarded victory.
The match was halted around 4.46 pm which Kamarul acknowledged a scoreboard malfunction caused scoring errors, and assured that the malfunction would be repaired.
“We have decided to postpone all the matches scheduled for this evening (Aug 21) to tomorrow (Aug 22) at 8.30am,” Kamarul said.
Tensions rose among fans during the pencak silat match between Sarawak and the Federal Territories, with supporters from both sides creating a heated and charged atmosphere.
The match was stopped by the referee when spectators threw a plastic bottle and cup into the arena as both fighters neared the end of the bout.
The technical committee and match officials were forced to halt the matches in both Arena One and Arena Two to prevent further issues.
