Looking forward to hosting opening ceremony of 2027 SEA Games

Once again our government had expressed the willingness for Sarawak to become official venue for opening ceremony of the 2027 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games after getting the green light from Federal Government to be co-host of the event.

I have mentioned to our media friends that this had been requested by Sarawak's Premier, His Right Honourable Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg because to us, this is very important. The closing ceremony can be in Kuala Lumpur or another venue to be decided by the Federal's Ministry of Youth and Sports but the opening ceremony must be in Kuching.

For the record, since the Prime Minister has agreed for Sarawak to be the co-host, we can safely say the opening ceremony will be in Kuching, even though the dates have not been decided.

Our Right Honourable Primer Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on August 24 had mentioned that Sarawak was ready to play a part in the 2027 SEA Games based on its successful hosting of the 21st edition of Malaysia Games (SukmaXXI).

The prime minister was quoted during the Sukma's closing ceremony that given Sarawak’s proven ability to host major sporting events, on behalf of the Malaysian government, he had agreed for us to co-host the 2027 SEA Games.

We are also having ongoing discussions with our counterparts from Federal's Ministry of Youth and Sports on co-hosting the SEA Games and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) had also been asked to choose which sports would be held in Sarawak.

There are going to be 36 sports of which 18 will be in Sarawak but that is not final yet. We have to pinpoint the sports we want based on the facilities that are available here. This the first time Malaysia to be hosting the SEA Games outside Kuala Lumpur.

Other Southeast Asian countries had hosted previous games outside the nation's capital which include Palembang, Indonesia, in 2011 while the 2025 edition will be hosted by Chiang Mai in Thailand.

We look forward to such arrangements because of the positive impacts since it is spread out with the economic spin-offs for our folks who will also have the opportunity to watch the exciting matches in progress.