PETALING JAYA, Aug 27 — Selangor has offered to be main host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG) should Malaysia make a bid for the quadrennial sporting event, Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said today.

He said although it was only an emerging idea, he believed one of its cities — state capital Shah Alam most likely — has the capacity and ability of hosting the games.

"After Kuala Lumpur became the host in 1998, Selangor also have ambitions of becoming a host for CWG in 2026.

"It is a continuous exploration and work from us and with other agencies too, and we will start with SUKMA 2022 first,” he told reporters after officiating the inaugural 2019 Selangor International Sports Summit here today.

The Selangor government recently also offered to host the 2022 Malaysia Games and is optimistic of its chances, after having last host the biennial games in 1998.

Meanwhile, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria supported Amirudin’s idea, saying that it would be a good move.

"For OCM, we will see how we can assist Selangor in fulfilling those dreams and hopes,” he said.

For the record, in February last year, OCM former president, Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar said Malaysia was not ready to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games as it had become relatively expensive for many countries.

Before saying this, he had once said that Malaysia was capable of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but it all depended on whether there was political will to organise it again.

Malaysia first hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998. — Bernama