LETTERS: I belong to a group that thinks we should not host the Commonwealth Games in two years, mostly due to financial considerations.
Focus instead on the growth of our own sportsmen and sportswomen in the short and long term in relation to being successful regionally and, as there are only a few of them, of international standing.
Thus, a better investment of our resources would be in a major nationwide grassroots development programme to grow our talent pool, identifying and targeting our future champion athletes at an early age.
Add to that, emphasise education in sports science and sports psychology. Foster a healthier population by building more and better-maintained parks and recreation areas plus building new hospitals for more efficient patient care.
Building new schools will relieve overcrowding, and reduce the student-to-teacher ratio (22 to 1 is ideal), which automatically upgrades learning. Also needed are new elderly care facilities, offering a range of services from personal assistance to quality Intensive Care Unit medical care.
In terms of our business environment, focus on attracting substantial investors through trade missions, creating higher quality jobs with better income trajectories, increasing purchasing power to create further business growth, upskilling and reskilling our workers in artificial intelligence technologies and by building a competitive and innovative workforce in the global marketplace.
A decision to host the games will impact the lives of Malaysians.
The cabinet must make the right choice to protect the country's financial resources, not investing in costly sporting events at least in the short and medium term.
I believe that the other factor is that the Commonwealth Games has lost its glitter compared with the Asian Games or Olympic Games.
C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU
Former national athlete,
Seremban
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times