KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is confident that the newly renovated Zeon Zoysia pitch at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium will sustain its longevity for years to come.
The minister said that the ministry, in collaboration with Malaysian Stadium Corp (PSM), will enforce a strict maintenance and monitoring schedule to ensure the pitch’s top-notch quality is maintained.
“We have successfully addressed the issue with our national team’s pitch within just 10 months, and we are highly impressed with our achievement.
“We are aware that this is a multipurpose facility, and the pitch has also been used for several musical concerts over the years.
“We cannot prevent musical concerts from taking place, as they contribute to PSM’s revenue.
“However, we have established a partnership with Johor Darul Ta’zim by creating a pitch nursery field in Shah Alam to ensure we can repair the field in case of any damage.
“This does not mean that we can fully exploit our nine acres of nursery field. We will ensure that we allocate time for concert organisers to ensure they do not use the pitch for extended periods in the future.
“I would also like to take this moment to express our sincere gratitude to Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim for covering the cost of the pitch renovation,” said Hannah during the official launch of the newly renovated pitch at the national stadium.
Hannah also mentioned that the Zeon Zoysia pitch will enhance the performance of the national team in the upcoming Merdeka Tournament.
“Our Harimau Malaya have consistently performed well at our home stadium. I believe that this brand-new pitch will provide a significant boost for our players to perform even better than before.
“I’m eager to hear what coach Kim Pan-gon has to say about the pitch after tomorrow’s match. The ministry and PSM are ready to make further improvements for the betterment of the Harimau Malaya squad if necessary,” Hannah added.
Last year, Tunku Ismail agreed to sponsor the renovation cost to replace the cow grass pitch at Bukit Jalil with Zeon Zoysia, as a gift to the Harimau Malaya, after the pitch was observed to be in poor condition during the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.
The current Zeon Zoysia grass at the stadium is also used at the JDT-owned Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.
It is understood the estimated cost of renovating the pitch was RM1.5 million and it takes RM300,000 to maintain its quality.
PSM has spent RM4.7 million since June last year as the stadium underwent extensive refurbishment, including work on the replacement of the field drainage system, the stadium’s electrical system, the protection fence, locker rooms and restroom facilities. – October 12, 2023