He made the statement when opening the 16th Tapak Suci national adult championship here on Thursday.
With regard to the championship, he called on all participants to uphold sportsmanship, saying they must be ready to win, as well as to lose, a spirit which now seems to have gone out of competitions.
"Yes. Many can only say they are ready to lose or to win, but when the result is against their favor, they protest the decision," he said.
It seems he was also referring to the current political situation in the country.
Indonesia recently held a presidential election, but one of the candidates has filed a lawsuit with the court after the result of the election went against them.
Irwan Hidayat, President director of PT Sido Muncul Tbk., an herbal medicine company that is sponsoring the event, said at the opening of the championships that "pencak silat", as a traditional sport, is a national heritage that needs to be preserved, which is why his company has sponsored the event.
Some 300 martial artists from 18 provinces in the country, as well as Egypt and Singapore, took part in the event, committee chairman Roni Saifullah said.
This was the first event in ten years due to Tapak Sucis involvement in the Indonesia Martial Arts Association, he said.
(H-YH/INE/a014)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
