Taslim Azis

Biography

Taslim Azis came into the world on Ambon Island, the child of Ali Bali and Samida Azis. After finishing high school, he headed to Bandung to study at Bandung Islamic University, where he picked up a degree in mining engineering in 1994. While in college, he took part in Indonesian student sports week and snagged a gold medal in shotput. He also tried his hand at boxing, but his mother put a stop to it after he sent one of his opponents to the hospital.

In 1985, he wrapped up his training in pencak silat, and the next year he won the Indonesian Student Silat Invitation Championship in Bandung. He went on to claim gold at both the Southeast Asian Games and Indonesian National Sports Week. He became world champion in pencak silat three times: 1990, 1992, and 1994. He also took the Southeast Asian title in 1991 in Manila, 1993 in Singapore, 1995 in Chiang Mai, and 1997 in Jakarta.

Competing for West Java in National Sports Week, he won gold in 1989, 1993, and 1996, all in the 70–75 kg weight class. Once he stopped fighting, he stayed involved as a coach with the Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia. On the political side, Azis joined the Great Indonesia Movement Party and worked as its Deputy Secretary General. He ran for a seat in the 2014 Indonesian legislative election but lost.

In 2019, he got a temporary spot on the People's Representative Council after Amrullah Amri Tuasikal stepped down, taking the oath on 13 February 2019 and finishing out the term. There, he served on Komisi VII. He tried for reelection in the 2019 Indonesian legislative election but fell short, pulling in only 19,835 votes. Taslim Azis passed away in Jakarta on 28 February 2021 at age 56.