KUALA LUMPUR: Straight-talking Sports Commissioner Suhardi Alias is in hot water for his views on the 2026 Commonwealth Games with the media.
A web portal reported today that Suhardi had been asked to explain by the Sports Ministry for his comments.
A day earlier, Suhardi told Timesport that he was unlikely to make anymore press statements.
He was not reachable today for comment on the issue, at time of writing, on the latest development
Suhardi had earlier this week made it clear that he was against Malaysia taking over as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to the huge funding required, among others.
At the time, Suhardi said he felt compelled to speak up as he does not want Malaysia to suffer the consequences of hosting a costly Games.
He is the only high-ranking government official in sports to have spoken up about the issue publicly so far.
The Australian city of Victoria, which was scheduled to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, withdrew last year, citing escalating costs (expected to reach up to A$7 billion (RM21.7 billion), and has reportedly agreed to pay A$380 (RM1.1 billion) to the Commonwealth Games Federation for breach of contract.