Silat Seni Gayong
A Malay silat linked to Meor Abdul Rahman. Originally Sendi Harimau, with the registered organisation PSSGM since 1963.
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Training
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What the style is built from
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About Silat Seni Gayong
Silat Seni Gayong, or gayong for short, is a Malay silat linked to the name of Dato' Meor Abdul Rahman. According to an article by Wan Mohd Dasuki in JOMAS (2018), Meor taught seni gayong to several young men on the island of Pulau Sudong on 17 February 1942. The museum Roots.gov.sg at the National Museum of Singapore states that the art comes from the Bugis tribe of Celebes and has existed since the 15th century, and says of Meor only that he helped to teach and spread it. We therefore do not call him the founder of the art: according to JOMAS, from the age of twelve he learned a silat called Sendi Harimau from his maternal grandfather. NST calls him the founder of the organisation PSSGM, not of the art.
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The grandfather's name differs between sources. JOMAS gives Syed Zainal bin Syed Idris al-Attas, penghulu in Pekan, Pahang, while Malay Mail gives Syed Zainal Al-Attas, known as Tok Jenai. English Wikipedia adds the Bugis prince Daeng Kuning, who was said to have brought the style to the Malay Peninsula in the nineteenth century. We found this name neither in JOMAS nor in Malay Mail. According to JOMAS, the organisation Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM) was registered in 1963 in Johor Bahru under number 361/1963 and is described as the first registered silat organisation in Malaysia. Malay Mail adds that Meor applied for registration in 1962 and it was officially approved on 22 October 1963. The year 1942 is therefore the year of Meor's teaching on Pulau Sudong and 1963 the year the organisation was registered, not the year the art arose. Do not confuse gayong with Silat Gayung Fatani: Malay Wikipedia lists them as two different founding associations.
History
According to JOMAS, Meor Abdul Rahman bin Daeng Uda Mohd Hashim was born on 21 August 1915 in Kampung Lake Garden in Taiping, Perak, and died on 23 June 1991 in a hospital in Ipoh. Malay Mail gives the same date of birth and adds that at twelve he learned from his grandfather. During the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1942, according to JOMAS, he fled to Pulau Sudong, where the local young men were to guard against a possible Japanese landing. It was there that he taught seni gayong to several young men on 17 February 1942. The source does not give their number. Roots.gov.sg holds a photograph from 1962 showing students of Silat Seni Gayong training in Kampong Ambar in Singapore. Malay Mail writes that Meor left the civil service in 1961 to devote himself to developing gayong as an organisation, and on the advice of Dato' Onn Jaafar applied for the registration of PSSGM in 1962. It was approved on 22 October 1963. JOMAS names Onn Jaafar as adviser and author of the statutes, Haji Razali Salleh as an important figure of the organisation, and Tun Abdul Razak, appointed penasihat agung in March 1975. For 1964, Malay Mail mentions only an invitation from the Sultan of Kedah for Meor to teach gayong in Kedah.
How it differs
The Malaysian inventory JWN lists Silat Gayong among more than 150 known styles in Malaysia, and Seni Gayung Fatani (Anuar Abd Wahab 2008) separately in its bibliography. Malay Wikipedia names Seni Gayung Fatani Malaysia and Silat Seni Gayung Malaysia as two different founding associations of Majlis Silat Negara, later PESAKA. Wan Mohd Dasuki in JOMAS defines gayung as an aspect of Malay silat, namely ilmu pukul or a way of counterattacking. English Wikipedia calls Seni Gayong the largest and internationally best-known Malay silat discipline and the first registered martial arts association in Malaysia.
Technique
Roots.gov.sg writes that the style combines striking and wrestling techniques modelled on tiger attacks. According to English Wikipedia, it contains strikes, grabs, locks and weapons, with acrobatics less represented than in other silat styles. Wikipedia further states that students first learn kris, pisau, kerambit, kapak, tekpi and sundang, then tongkat, simbat, tembong, parang, tombak and lembing, and finally the flexible weapons tali, cindai, rantai and bengkong. We have not confirmed these details in sources with expert backing. JOMAS confirms the original name Sendi Harimau: Meor learned it from his maternal grandfather.
Training
According to English Wikipedia, the syllabus is divided into seven parts: Tapak Gayong, Seni Tapak Gayong, Seni Keris, Seni Simbat, Seni Cindai, Seni Yoi and Seni Belian. We have not confirmed this in sources with expert backing. JOMAS mentions only training with sharp weapons and jatuhan, with no description of sparring.
Ranks and progression
In 2025 Utusan Malaysia describes a gayong student at the red belt (tali pinggang merah) grade. English Wikipedia writes that gayong uses the modern Japanese coloured belt system, that a test is required to advance, and that the list for adults has nineteen grades. We have not found the full system in sources with expert backing.
Today
The main organisation of the style is Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM). According to Malay Wikipedia, it was one of the four founding associations of Majlis Silat Negara from 1978, later PESAKA. We have not confirmed this year in sources with expert backing. In 2026 Malay Mail writes that the Gayong films by director Faisal Ishak helped bring the legacy of Meor Abdul Rahman to a wider audience.
Did you know
Malay Mail states that Meor died on 23 June 1991 in Ipoh at the age of seventy-five and was buried in Taiping. JOMAS names Air Kuning in Perak as the burial place. In a 2025 film review, NST writes that the film shows a British officer who appointed Meor instructor of unarmed combat in the British army, the first Malay given such a task. This is a description of the film, not a historical source.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Silat Seni Gayong?
We have not found the founder of the art. According to Roots.gov.sg, Meor Abdul Rahman taught and spread the art, according to JOMAS he inherited it from his maternal grandfather, and NST calls him the founder of the organisation PSSGM.
What does Sendi Harimau mean?
It is the original name of the silat that Meor Abdul Rahman, according to JOMAS, learned from his maternal grandfather. English Wikipedia gives the English translation tiger joint silat for Sendi Harimau.
When was the organisation PSSGM registered?
According to JOMAS, in 1963 in Johor Bahru under number 361/1963. Malay Mail states that the application was submitted in 1962 and officially approved on 22 October 1963.
Is Seni Gayong the same as Gayung Fatani?
The sources list them separately. The Malaysian inventory JWN places Silat Gayong among the styles and lists Seni Gayung Fatani only in its bibliography, and Malay Wikipedia names them as two different founding associations.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.