President Jokowi formally opened the Teenage National Pencak Silat Championship ASAD 2017 on Tuesday at the Minhaajurrosyidiin Islamic Boarding School in Jakarta.
On the same occasion, Jokowi also greeted some religious leaders of the school.
Jokowi highlighted that Pencak Silat, a form of martial arts that originated in Indonesia, is globally well-known. Hence, Pencak Silat, as a form of the nations character, is a cultural heritage that needs to be preserved.
"Without our awareness to preserve the tradition of Pencak Silat, we would lose our nations character, and we should preserve it together," Jokowi noted in his statement while wearing the martial art forms traditional outfit.
The president recalled his time as mayor of Solo when he had also inaugurated the same event in that city. Jokowi inaugurated the Pencak Silat championship to demonstrate his support for the tradition.
"Right now, I open the event again, not as a mayor anymore but as a president," Jokowi made the statement, which was applauded by the audience.
President Jokowi believes that Pencak Silat is a way to demonstrate ones work ethics and productivity to all.
Moreover, Pencak Silat can help to develop a spirit of competitiveness, especially among youngsters.
This is a form of character building that the government is keen to implement across the nation.
"I am happy, Kyai (a religious leader) said that Silat is not about fighting one another, but we want to lend a strong character to our teenagers. Brave to compete and fight," he affirmed.
The championship will be held on Aug 8-11, and the event is a routine agenda to seek new Indonesian Pencak Silat athletes.
The event is also as an effort to preserve Pencak Silat as one of the forms of Indonesias traditional cultural heritage.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
