Prince Harry in Singapore: Silat athletes put up show while fasting

He has choreographed silat demonstrations for many VIPs in Singapore including President Tony Tan and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. But the demonstration for Britain’s Prince Harry on Sunday (4 June) was the most high profile to date for former world silat champion Sheikh Alau’ddin Yacoob Marican.

“I’ve always read about him in the media and I had to plan [a silat demonstration] for him,” the 49-year-old told Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore on Monday. The 32-year-old prince observed the demonstration by a group of silat athletes at the Jamiyah Children’s Home.

Sheikh said that after Dr Mohd Hasbi Abu Bakar, president of Jamiyah Singapore, told him more than three weeks ago to put up the demonstration, he immediately contacted his coaches to prepare for it.

The biggest challenge for his 29-member team of silat athletes, including eight from Jamiyah Children’s Home, was preparing for the 15-minute performance while they were fasting during Ramadan.

But Sheikh was confident that the silat athletes, aged between 11 and 29, would put up a good show. Nonetheless, he allowed the athletes to back out should they feel unwell while doing the rehearsals and demonstration. The athletes were kept in suspense on the identity of the guest-of-honour until two days before the event, Sheikh revealed.

“All I said was that they would be demonstrating for a very, very important person. When I finally revealed to them who the VIP was, the young ones had no clue who Prince Harry was and they began to Google him,” said the Singaporean silat legend.

Sheikh described Prince Harry as a “jovial” man who “likes to talk”. Prince Harry chatted with the silat athletes and was particularly impressed with the commitment shown by the youngest athlete, Rifqa Mursyidah binte Mistam, 11.

“He said to the youngest athlete, ‘Wow, you performed for me and you’re fasting. How do you feel? How are you?’” Sheikh revealed.

Prince Harry and British High Commissioner to Singapore, Scott Wightman, each a received silat outfit customised with their names. After the demonstration, the athletes had the honour of sharing an iftar meal and chatting with Prince Harry. Sheikh said he was grateful that the athletes had the chance to showcase silat to Prince Harry, calling it a “memorable experience”.

“The Prince came up to me and said ‘I know who you are’. I found out that he had been briefed about me by his secretary about my silat background,” said Sheikh.

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• Everything you need to know about Prince Harry before his Singapore visit

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