Rais urges martial arts practitioners to combat crime
MALACCA, July 10 — Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim today urged martial arts practitioners in the country to be more actively involved in fighting crime in their localities.
He said they had a distinct advantage as compared to other members of the public in this regard as they had special training in armed or unarmed combat.
Their skills were ideal to combat street crimes like snatch theft, he told reporters after Majlis Pendekar Malaysia’s Malacca branch office in Taman Melaka Raya here today.
Also present was Majlis Pendekar Malaysia president, Mahaguru Tan Sri Omardin Mauju.
Rais (picture) said maintaining peace and order in the country was not the sole responsibility of the authorities and that all Malaysians must do their bit to fight crime.
Rais, who is also among the individuals involved in the setting up of Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (Pesaka), the federation for silat organisations in the country, further praised Majlis Pendekar Malaysia for its role in unifying Malaysians especially those in the martial arts community, under the 1 Malaysia concept.
He also urged martial arts exponents to show up in force for Merdeka Day celebrations on August 31 at Dataran Merdeka in the federal capital.
On another note, Rais said that he would forward Omardin’s proposal to set up the Yayasan Pendekar 1 Malaysia foundation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for consideration.
At the function, Rais also announced a RM100,000 allocation for Majlis Pendekar Malaysia to help cover its administration expenditure. — Bernama
