By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 8: Sarawak silat veteran and Rumpun Silat Sarawak (RSS) president Muhammad Haneef Ali died today at the age of 78, just five days after celebrating his birthday.
RSS, in a statement on its official Facebook page, said Muhammad Haneef died at 12.27pm.
He had turned 78 on Oct 3.
Born in Miri, Muhammad Haneef began learning silat at the age of nine and went on to become a prominent figure in the martial art at both State and national levels.
He served as Vice-President II of the Malaysian National Silat Federation (PESAKA) from 1994 to 1996, was a member of the PESAKA Council of Gurus, and chaired its Silat Development Bureau. He also served as a national referee and judge.
In 1996, he was Head of the Technical Delegation for pencak silat at the sixth Malaysia Games (SUKMA VI) in Pahang.
At the State level, he served on the Management Board of the Sarawak State Sports Council as the silat representative from 2000 to 2017.
He served as RSS Secretary-General from 1987 to 2014 before becoming its president, a position he held until his death.
Muhammad Haneef was also Guru Utama of Perguruan Seni Silat Helang Putih Perkasa Sarawak.
He was named Tokoh Guru Silat by the Sarawak Chief Minister in 2001 and received the Johan Bintang Kenyalang (JBK) in 2016.
In 2024, PESAKA Malaysia honoured him with the Anugerah Jasamu Dikenang for his contributions to silat. The award was presented by Yang di-Pertua Negeri Melaka and PESAKA Malaysia patron Tun Mohd Ali Rustam at the PESAKA Malaysia Dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 4, 2024.
Muhammad Haneef’s decades-long service to silat leaves behind a legacy of leadership, training and development within the martial arts community. — DayakDaily
