Leadership change at Singapore Silat Federation after stormy year

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Silat Federation (SSF) will have a change in leadership after Yasrin Yasil, its president since 2016, did not contest the election at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Sept 28.

The new president and other appointment holders will be confirmed at this week’s board meeting, after being elected during the AGM at the Singapore Sports Hub’s auditorium.

The Straits Times (ST) understands that former SSF president Abdullah Shafiie Mohamed Sidik, a Public Service Star recipient in 2019 and a veteran grassroots leader, will be back at the helm.

The 65-year-old, who headed SSF from 2000 to 2016, returns amid some chaos and confusion in the silat fraternity, especially in the lead-up to the AGM. The leadership change also comes after a stormy year for SSF.

Its former chief executive Sheik Alau’ddin Yacoob Marican, a two-time world champion and four-time Coach of the Year who is synonymous with the sport here, was

arrested in November 2023 for suspected criminal breach of trust.

An SSF spokesperson said at that time that Sheik was assisting the Commercial Affairs Department with investigations “following a police report filed by the SSF in February 2023 over financial irregularities in the organisation”.

This led to the

cancellation of the World Pencak Silat Championships and World Junior Pencak Silat Championships,

which were originally scheduled at the OCBC Arena in December 2023.

Responding to queries from ST, a Singapore Police Force spokesperson said on Oct 2 that investigations are still ongoing.

In Sheik’s absence, the Sept 28 AGM was surrounded by drama. In e-mails seen by ST, seven of SSF’s 18 full members were disqualified from participating in the AGM. As a result, four more individuals from other clubs were disqualified from contesting the elections as their endorsement came from disqualified members.

When contacted, an SSF spokesperson said a Sept 23 auditor’s report highlighted that the seven did not meet the qualifying criterion under Clause 9.3 of its constitution, adding: “They were the only seven clubs that had not participated in SSF’s competitions, trainings, events or programmes in the past 12 months...

“Consequently, the authorised delegates and endorsement of candidates by the seven full members were also disqualified.” 

Checks by ST on publicly available records show that eight of these 11 clubs which were disqualified from either attending the AGM or had members disqualified from contesting the elections had the same registered address at The Sunflower, a residential building on Geylang Road.

Grasio Association (Singapore), one of the eight clubs, was founded by Sheik.

In videos of the AGM seen by ST, a handful of disgruntled affiliates, including Sheik’s wife Sa’adiah Sanuse, requested for clarity on why they had been deemed as being unable to contest the election while some questioned the legality of the disqualifications.

Singapore Martial Arts Instructors’ Association’s acting president, who identified himself as Mark R, said he and the other affiliates who had been disqualified “solely based on article 9.3 of the SSF constitution” have written to Sport Singapore (SportSG) as they feel that the actions have been unwarranted.

Mark said: “We have asked for proof of why we did not meet the requirements. This needs to be addressed. They have not addressed our concerns.

“We will not recognise the new leadership. We are against their reasoning for disqualifying members from the AGM and disqualifying some candidates.

“We have paid our membership fees as of (February). They should show us the proof of how they have disqualified us. We have nothing to hide and we urge for transparency in this process.”

However, a SportSG spokesperson said in response to queries from ST that SSF “convened its 37th AGM at the Sports Hub... in accordance with its constitution” and noted that “some affiliates were deemed to be ineligible to vote in the lead-up to the AGM”.

The spokesperson added: “It is common for constitutions of national sports associations (NSA) to specify criteria for membership, voting and nominations for persons who are running for key positions. This ensures that members who are entitled to vote and shape the future of the NSA are fully a part of that sporting community.

“We had advised SSF to adhere to its constitution, and we are satisfied that the AGM was conducted in accordance with its constitution.

“SportSG will work with the newly elected leadership, and looks forward to the silat fraternity uniting in this endeavour, combining their expertise and passion to elevate the sport both locally and on the international stage.”

Since December 2023, an interim management team led by SSF interim general manager Fairuz Mohamed and appointed by SportSG and the Singapore National Olympic Council has been managing SSF’s daily operations to “uphold governance standards, maintain financial integrity” and ensure that Singapore’s silat exponents can “train without any interruptions”.

Their upcoming competitions include the Asian Pencak Silat Championships in Uzbekistan in October and the World Pencak Silat Championships in Abu Dhabi in December.

The spokesperson said: “The current board is focused on continuous progress and growth for the sport of pencak silat, and will build on the strength of our community in developing the sport.

“(The) SSF president will provide a statement upon his or her appointment after the board meeting.”