KAJANG, March 9 ― The decision on whether Malaysia is interested in hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games is expected to be made by the Cabinet soon.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said her ministry is preparing a Cabinet paper encompassing the results of studies on various aspects of organising the sport for the Cabinet.

"I cannot comment on this matter (on being interested as host). We will submit all the study results to the Cabinet for a decision. Need to wait.

"It's not just financial, there are many factors that need to be looked at and studied, so I can't comment. (Cabinet Paper) is almost ready,” she said when asked if Malaysia was interested in hosting the Games.

She told reporters after officiating the Youth and Sports Ministry's (KBS) Women's Day celebrations, and the launch of the Safe Sports Code video at Uniten here, today.

The fate of the 2026 Commonwealth Games remains in question after Australian state of Victoria, which was due to host the 23rd edition, pulled out in July last year due to increased hosting costs from the initial expectation of A$2.6 billion (about RM8.09 billion). to A$7 billion (approximately RM21.78 billion).

Victoria’s government also reportedly agreed to pay A$380 million for breach of contract for failing to host the games as scheduled from March 17-29, 2026.

Of the 74 countries and territories that are members of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), only England, Canada, Australia, Wales, New Zealand, Jamaica, Scotland, India and Malaysia (1998) have hosted the Games.

Meanwhile, Hannah said there has been a sudden increase in the involvement of women in the boards of agencies under KBS.

"From 19 per cent in 2022, we now have 30.6 per cent women on the board of our agencies such as the National Sports Council, the National Sports Institute, the National Athlete Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) and the Malaysian Stadium Corporation,” she said. ― Bernama