KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has confirmed that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has no intention to host the 2026 Thomas/Uber Cup.
Hannah (Segambut-PH) responded to Kampar MP Chong Zhemin (Kampar-PH) in Parliament today.
It is understood that there was some confusion when the Sports Commissioner, Suhardi Alias, raised the issue of BAM rejecting the offer to host the Thomas/Uber Cup in 2026.
“Malaysia does not intend to host the Thomas Cup. This is in line with BAM’s stance to not host the championship at this time.
“Confusion arose when, on March 12, a statement was issued by the Sports Commissioner that BAM had rejected the offer.
“This is not true at all because BAM never made a bid, so there is no such thing that the national body rejected to host the tournament.
In December last year, BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh clarified that the national body had no interest in hosting the Thomas/Uber Cup despite the Badminton World Federation extending the bidding deadline for the championship to February 1, 2024.
At the same time, Hannah explained that her ministry would consider every detail of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games to ensure that there would be no wastage of public funds.
The proposal for Malaysia to replace Victoria, Australia, as host of the Commonwealth Games sparked public concern due to the expected high costs, which many believed would place a financial burden on the country.
“As for the Commonwealth Games, this matter will be brought up in the cabinet discussion next week. I don’t want to preempt the cabinet discussion because there is a lot of feedback about this, and many are providing their own views.
“But I assure you that the government will ensure that the expenditure brings results to the country, and we will give due consideration to this matter,” she added. – March 13, 2024