KUALA LUMPUR – Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria is exploring the possibility of Sarawak sharing the responsibility of hosting the 2027 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games alongside Kuala Lumpur.
Norza revealed today that he discussed the proposal with Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg last month.
With the Bornean state set to host the Malaysian Games (Sukma) in August and having made substantial investments in new sporting facilities, Norza sees potential for Sarawak to take on a larger role in multi-sporting events.
“I think Sarawak should play a role (in hosting the 2027 SEA Games) as they have built facilities for Sukma.
“Because of this, post-Sukma, I think they are capable of shouldering the burden of hosting the SEA Games in 2027.
“This is one of the options and I believe that we can move away from the traditional template of just doing it in Kuala Lumpur,” said Norza at a press conference after the OCM’s 209th executive council meeting today.
Malaysia last hosted the SEA Games in 2017 primarily in Kuala Lumpur, with several events including football, equestrian, cricket, rugby 7s, track, road cycling, and sailing spread across states like Selangor, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu, and Kedah.
Initially, then-youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin proposed for Sabah and Sarawak to host a few events KL2017 chief executive, the late Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong, who was also the National Sports Council director-general, said the cost of bringing the Games to Borneo was too high.
Norza also mentioned that OCM plans to present a resolution to the government, seeking assurance that Malaysia’s commitment to hosting the 2027 SEA Games remains firm.
This resolution stems from concerns within the sports community following the government’s rejection of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The rejection has raised apprehensions within the sports fraternity about the fate of the SEA Games, prompting efforts to ensure its continuation.
He added that because the government had rejected the chance to host the Commonwealth Games the local sports fraternity is worried that the same fate will befall the SEA Games. – April 29, 2024