SUKMA 2024: Trouble At Silat Venue Forces Organisers To Ban Spectators

MIRI, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The atmosphere at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) silat competition at the Miri City Stadium will be significantly subdued as the event will proceed without spectators from tomorrow onwards.

This decision comes in the wake of an incident earlier today, where a water bottle was thrown into the ring during the 45kg Putri Class match between Sarawak’s Iman Syakilla Mahdi and the Federal Territories’ Nurin Alyaa Damia Mohd Masran.

Silat technical delegation head Kamarul Ariffin A. Latib announced that the decision was reached after a nearly two-hour meeting between the authorities and team managers, concluding around 7.30 pm.

“For the safety of all participants, we have decided that no spectators from any state or team will be allowed to attend the silat events from tomorrow until the final day on Aug 23.

“Only individuals with official passes, such as medical teams and the media will be granted entry, and this will be strictly monitored by security,” he told a press conference after the meeting. 

Kamarul said all teams will also be separated to prevent any further incidents.

He said today’s matches were suspended due to a malfunction in the competition’s scoring system server, which will be repaired overnight.

“Any matches that were disrupted earlier today will resume tomorrow morning,” he said.

The earlier match between Iman and Nurin became heated when Nurin regained the lead over the local favourite with a score of 70-65, sparking tension among the spectators.

The incident is believed to have stemmed from dissatisfaction with the scoring system displayed on the screen, leading to frustration among the crowd.

-- BERNAMA