KUALA LUMPUR: The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and its affiliates want the government to commit to hosting the 2027 Sea Games in Malaysia.
OCM president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria said there were concerns about the hosting of the 2027 games following the cabinet's decision to turn down an offer from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) for Malaysia to step in as a replacement host for the 2026 Commonwealth Games last month.
This was largely due to the high costs involved.
Malaysia was selected to host the 2027 Sea Games by the Sea Games Federation (SEAGF) in May 2022 during Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's tenure as prime minister.
It is understood that the hosting of the games has yet to be approved by the cabinet.
"By virtue of the precedence set by the (rejection of the 2026) Commonwealth Games, there is a concern within the sports fraternity that the 2027 Sea Games could face a similar fate," said Norza during a press conference today.
"We just want to highlight and appeal to the government to ensure that the plan of hosting the 2027 games is on track.
"We do not want any disruptions to the plan because it also involves our image and pride. When people heard about (the rejection of) the Commonwealth Games, questions were asked.
"When we face SEAGF, we should be confident that the government is with us.
"We also do not want our athletes, who are looking forward to the 2025 Thailand and 2027 Malaysia Sea Games, to worry about their preparation programmes being affected by unforeseen circumstances."
Norza, who chaired an OCM executive council meeting in Kuala Lumpur today, said the umbrella body would submit a resolution on the matter to the Youth and Sports Ministry.
"We have issued a resolution which has been unanimously supported by our national sports associations. This is to appeal to the government to continue with the plan to host the 2027 Sea Games," said Norza.
"We will send this resolution together with a letter to Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to inform her that the entire Malaysian sports fraternity that attended the meeting today wants the 2027 games to be held here."
OCM held a Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration attended by its affiliates after the meeting.