KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh sees the rational for the office of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to be moved to a new location in the Kuala Lumpur Sports City (KLSC), Bukit Jalil.

Hannah, who heard a presentation on the application to relocate by OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria on March 3, today organised a visit to Wisma OCM in Jalan Hang Jebat here which was built in 1991, to see for herself the condition of the country’s sports governing body’s facilities.

After almost an hour of visiting OCM office, the national sports association (NSA), the training hall, Olympic Hotel and the OCM Sports Museum, she said the ministry would look into OCM’s application.

"This visit will complete my understanding and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) secretary-general Dr K. Nagulendran on the need for shift. We have to look at the land, after that we have to see the development model, the funds involved and of course Cabinet approval.

"Before we can take this paper to the Cabinet, I need to make preparations, get feedback from all related agencies, (such as) from the land office, and we will start the process to get feedback,” she said at a press conference after the visit.

Hannah said the existing building has worked well for the past 30 years, but it is not suitable for the role of OCM in next 20 to 30 years.

"I agree with Tan Sri Norza, I believe sports need to go through modernisation. We have to start the process with the facilities first, then we bring modernisation to the sports administration,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mohamad Norza said OCM has identified 2.6 acres of land in KLSC area for the construction of a new ‘Olympic House’ through a land swap in collaboration with a developer.

"As much as possible, we don’t want to burden the government’s allocation, if we ever ask for government help, it is just for land ownership in the Bukit Jalil area... other than that, we will give this land to the developer for a certain amount and, they will build a new building for us involving the same amount.

"We want to follow the footsteps of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) which built a new building (Olympic House) in Lausanne, Switzerland with the theme of green, sustainability, environment and green technology,” he said.

Mohamad Norza explained that the impression of the OCM headquarters, which is the umbrella for the combined 58 national sports bodies, is not very good because the office looks like an ‘old museum.’

According to him, during the construction of the present Wisma OCM, the area was then a sports hub because it was close to Stadium Negara, Stadium Merdeka and Stadium MABA, but now it is not suitable as sports facilities have moved to Bukit Jalil, while the location is also difficult to access due to traffic congestion.

The lease status for Wisma OCM land covering an area of approximately 1.8 acres, still has 54 years remaining as it will expire in 2077. — Bernama