KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Three states namely Penang, Sabah and Sarawak have so far agreed to co-host with Kuala Lumpur in organising the 2027 SEA Games.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the three states also agreed to bear the total organisation costs estimated at RM700 million.

"This estimate is based on the cost when we organised the 2017 SEA Games. In fact, this time we also received an allocation which was funded by the state government so the federal government did not bear much so that is why the cabinet agreed to organise the SEA Games.

"Sarawak agreed to cover 50 per cent of the organising costs, which is more than RM300 million, Sabah RM100 million and Penang RM15 million,” she told reporters after the Tenaga Malaysia Energy Literacy Programme (MELP) awareness session with sports industry activists at the National Sports Council, here. today.

Yesterday the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) announced that Malaysia had agreed to accept an offer from the SEA Sports Federation (SEAGF) to host the 2027 SEA Games.

According to KBS, the decision was made by the Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after taking into account the joint hosting commitment by the three states namely Sarawak, Sabah and Penang.

In the meantime, Hannah said that her party also received offers as co-organisers from several other states but had to be rejected because they did not agree to share the cost of organising the bi-annual sports games.

"We have sent a letter to the state leadership inviting us to co-host. After the reminder on sharing cost was given, only three states responded with a commitment to bear the cost.

"There are states that are interested but they are not ready to provide allocations,” she said. — Bernama