KOTA KINABALU: Sabah should give serious thought to co-hosting the 2027 SEA Games, says Pakatan Harapan component party Upko.
Its information chief Dr Peter Jr Naintin said if given the opportunity, Sabah could see income generated in various sectors such as tourism, food and beverage, and local crafts and products.
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It could also further promote and introduce Sabah to other South-East Asian countries, he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 5).
“It would be an honour for Sabah to co-host the SEA Games,” he added, considering the added attention and allocations from the Federal Government to improve infrastructure and amenities in Sabah.
Naintin said apart from the economic benefits, co-hosting the Games would also be a boon for Sabah's athletes who would have improved training facilities and opportunities.
“We have more and more Sabahan athletes showing positive results. If they have better training equipment and spaces, it would push them to do better,” he said.
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He noted the increase in Sabahan medal-winners including Yee Xin Ying, who scored a first for the state by bagging a squash gold in the recently-concluded Sukma in Sarawak.
Naintin said a RM100mil supporting fund to co-host the SEA Games would bring great overall benefits and returns.
It could also spur Putrajaya to allocate more infrastructure funding to Sabah, he added.
“Our hope is that the state and federal Youth and Sports Ministries work together to improve the quality of sport in the state and country,” he added.
Confusion arose over co-hosting of the Games last week when federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said Sabah had pledged RM100mil to support the regional sporting event.
ALSO READ: Sabah never pledged funds to co-host 2027 SEA Games, says Masidi
She said Sarawak and Penang had also agreed to be co-hosts, contributing RM300mil and RM15mil respectively towards the overall cost of RM700mil.
Later, Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the state government was unaware of any discussion regarding plans to co-host the Games and stressed that Sabah had not made a financial pledge to co-host.
He also said the state government was not prepared to be a co-host yet because sports facilities in the state still had to be improved.
