KUCHING, May 24 ― The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development is proposing for the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak next year to be held from August 17 to 24, said minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahmah Hamzah.
He said eight divisions, namely Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu and Miri have been identified and proposed to host 32 sports.
“We have also identified the sports with facilities to be used, for example the Indoor Stadium in Sri Aman for boxing. Once we have got the list for various sports, we will inform Kuala Lumpur as we cannot just decide unilaterally.
“A technical committee will come down to carry out inspection at those places including accommodation to ensure that they are enough and are safe for the athletes.
“I believe that whatever we have recommended will be accepted by the national committee,” he told a press conference at the media room of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here yesterday.
Apart from boxing in Sri Aman, Abdul Karim also disclosed that they have fine-tuned several other places including Bintulu for muay thai, Miri for silat, Sibu for badminton and Kuching for archery.
“As for football, we are thinking of having it in several places, preliminaries perhaps in Sibu, Mukah and Bintulu, while the semifinal and final can be held in Kuching. This is to allow football fans across the divisions to also enjoy and support the games and their teams,” he said.
However, Abdul Karim noted that there are still many venues and facilities that need upgrading.
“Abang Jo has told me not to worry about funds as he will give two funds. One is for the upgrading of the facilities, the other one is for improving our athletes.
“We are getting very good support from the state government and that is what had inspired me and all those involved in the organising team,” he added, referring to Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, the Premier of Sarawak.
Asked on the overall cost of hosting the Sukma, Abdul Karim said that he was “not really too sure”.
“This is because we have yet to know the cost of upgrading and we are still compiling the list of facilities needed to be upgraded. We also need money to improve our athletes, but it will not reach RM600 million.
“The federal government will give a little bit and after a discussion with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, I was made to understand the biggest that they can provide is RM40 million.
“However, to us, money is not the main problem as we only want to be the host as the spinoff from such national sports event will surely be tremendous,” he added.
On a related matter, Abdul Karim also disclosed that his ministry is currently eyeing for another international sports event.
“But I cannot announce it yet, but tentatively it has been agreed to be hosted in Sarawak,” he said. ― Borneo Post
