SHAH ALAM,Sept 6 — Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) is looking to make pencak silat one of the district’s sporting identities, leveraging an ecosystem that has been developed since 2010.
Its president Dr Ani Ahmad said the sport had been prioritised due to the availability of training facilities, coaching expertise and an established grassroots talent development programme spanning more than a decade.
“We chose to focus on pencak silat because its ecosystem has been developed in Sepang since 2010, including at the Hulu Chuchoh Community Hall, which serves as the district’s training centre to strengthen the development of athletes.
“It has great potential to become one of the district’s sporting strengths, given the availability of training facilities and coaching expertise to support athlete development,” she told Media Selangor.
According to Ani, the state government’s efforts under the Second Selangor Plan (RS-2) also provide local authorities with an opportunity to strengthen sports development in a more structured manner, including at the grassroots level for pencak silat.
She said support for the sport was important not only to nurture local talent but also represented a long-term investment in creating pathways for athletes to represent Sepang and Selangor at higher levels.
“In strengthening pencak silat development, we take into account the availability of coaches and expertise, continuity in athlete development, as well as the potential of local talent to compete at higher levels.
“If this development is carried out consistently with the support of coaches, facilities and the commitment of all parties, pencak silat can become one of the sporting identities that puts Sepang on the map,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ani said MPSepang would continue to support the development of sports with strong potential, based on the availability of established ecosystems, expertise and local talent.
When tabling RS-2, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the state government would continue to build on the momentum of hosting the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) through the “one sport, one PBT” approach to encourage the community to lead an active lifestyle.
He said the approach would also formalise community sports development at the PBT level, strengthening the grassroots sports ecosystem in a more structured and integrated manner.
