KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The government needs to think carefully and seriously before considering the offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, says former chairman of Sukom Ninety Eight Berhad, Gen (R) Tun Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali.
Mohamed Hashim opined that Malaysia was not in the best position to organise the quadrennial event, both in terms of time left until the Games as well as and the austerity measures the government was currently implementing.
The former chief of the Armed Forces said two years was too short a time to make intensive preparations, thus doubting Malaysia’s ability to repeat the proud achievement of hosting it the first time in 1998.
“When we were offered to host previously, we had four years to prepare including upgrading the venue, getting sponsorship and providing infrastructure. This time it’s only two years...if you want to do it right and on par with the 1998 edition, I don’t think it’s possible, because the time is short.
“If there are four years we can get a sponsor, that’s what was done before, and the government had to do it, we formed a company, namely Sukom 98 to manage the event,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
Commenting further, he said that if Malaysia were to host it alone, the government would need a large budget, but with the current economic situation, it would open the door to much criticism.
“If there is so much money, it should be utilised to build hospitals or schools. If you do (organise the Commonwealth Games) then it would open the door for people to say this is not appropriate because the government is using that much money for other things, and not for the people.
“Why Australia (Victoria) doesn’t want to host it, they must have their reasons, so I don’t think we need to rush to organise it in 2026, not yet, now it’s too late to make preparations,” said the 89-year-old figure.
On Monday, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) confirmed that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had offered Malaysia the opportunity to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games to replace Victoria, Australia, which withdrew itself last year.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh when winding up the debate for her ministry on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday said the decision on whether Malaysia should host the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be discussed in the Cabinet next week.
The fate of the 2026 Commonwealth Games remains uncertain after Victoria, which was supposed to host the 23rd edition, withdrew in July last year due to the increased organising costs from an initial estimate of AU$2.6 billion (approximately RM8.09 billion) to AU$7 billion.
The Victoria government also reportedly agreed to pay AU$380 million for breach of contract, as it could not host the event as scheduled from March 17 to 29, 2026.
India had also reportedly said it had no interest in hosting the 2026 edition of the Games and the province of Alberta in Canada also withdrew itself from the bidding process for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, a week after Victoria announced its withdrawal.
Of the 74 countries and territories that are members of the CGF, only England, Canada, Australia, Wales, New Zealand, Jamaica, Scotland, India and Malaysia have hosted the Games. — Bernama
