Padang, West Sumatra, July 3 -- Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo has urged West Sumatra province to turn Indonesia's traditional martial art pencak silat into a leading tourist, cultural, and sports attraction.

"I came here and was immediately inspired by the idea of positioning West Sumatra with pencak silat as its main attraction," he said at the inauguration of West Sumatra Deputy Governor Vasko Ruseimy as chairperson of the West Sumatra Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) here on Thursday.

According to the minister, the central government is currently formulating a cluster system to emphasize each region's unique strengths. West Sumatra, he said, is considered highly suitable for pencak silat development.

With the ne...