SEA GAMES 2027 TO BE HELD IN SEPTEMBER IN SARAWAK, PENANG, JOHOR AND KL - HANNAH

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has chosen to host the 2027 SEA Games from Sept 18-29, involving four main clusters - Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur - and will feature 38 sports, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

She said the selection of sports to be contested was made in accordance with the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) stipulations, the suitability of the existing venues and additional considerations, such as the list of core sports, the Road to Gold (RTG) programme and the Podium Programme.

"The dates were actually chosen because that's the holiday season for universities. That period is also not yet the start of the monsoon season, so we can be assured of good weather for outdoor sports.

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"The dates were also fixed to ensure there is no clash of dates with the National Day (Aug 31), Malaysia Day (Sept 16) or any other major celebrations,” she told a media conference after the 34th SEA Games Organising Committee and 14th ASEAN Para Games 2027 meeting here today.

She said that Sarawak will be the main cluster and site of the opening ceremony, with 17 sports contested there, namely aquatics, weightlifting, basketball, bowling, lawn bowls, e-Sports, gymnastics, golf, cricket, archery, shooting, muay, petanque, squash, taekwondo, tennis and wushu.

The Penang cluster will have six sports - sepak takraw, snooker and billiards, judo, boxing, table tennis and floorball, while the Johor cluster only has football.

The Kuala Lumpur cluster, meanwhile, will host the 2027 Malaysia SEA Games closing ceremony and 14 sports - badminton, cycling (National Velodrome, Nilai), volleyball, netball, equestrian, hockey, karate, fencing, ice skating, athletics, pencak silat, sailing (National Sailing Centre, Langkawi), rugby and water skiing.

Hannah added that the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the Malaysia SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) will present the 38-sport proposal to the SEAGC in Bangkok on Monday (Dec 8).

Meanwhile, the 14th ASEAN Para Games will be held from Oct 17-23, 2027, in Kuala Lumpur, involving 18 sports - swimming, badminton, cycling, boccia, wheelchair basketball, CP (cerebral palsy) football, VI (vision impairment) football, chess, goalball, judo, wheelchair fencing, archery, shooting, athletics, table tennis, powerlifting, wheelchair tennis and bowling. 

OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria praised the authority of the Malaysian government, especially Hannah, for agreeing to host the prestigious biennial Games.

Mohamad Norza also said that the final decision on the sports can be made 20 months before the SEA Games opening ceremony in September 2027.

"That's why MASOC has been formed to hold engagement sessions with sports associations… to see if there is a possibility of other sports being held in the state involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Official Logo and Mascot Design Competition for the 34th SEA Games and 14th ASEAN Para Games 2027 has been opened to all Malaysians.

The first-place winner will take home RM8,000 and a certificate, RM5,000 and a certificate for second place, and RM3,000 and a certificate for third place. The closing date for entries is Dec 31.

All designs can be submitted via the official link at https://forms.gle/ZUgb3k3BKUZxaXvi8.

-- BERNAMA