KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia, and possibly other Southeast Asian countries, may not be able to participate in the postponed Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam if it is held beyond May 2022.
Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria told The Vibes that the host nation has yet to decide on the date on which the biennial games will be held next year, but hopes that it will be either in April or May.
“We are still waiting for the Vietnam Olympic Council (VOC) to come back to us with a date, but we will accept if the games are held at the end of April or early May.
“We have no choice because the host cannot do it this year.”
Vietnam yesterday confirmed that the SEA Games scheduled for November this year will be postponed due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
This corroborates The Vibes’ exclusive story on the postponement of the SEA Games on June 7.
Malaysia is among eight Asean nations that rejected the proposal to postpone the SEA Games to 2022 last month, due to an influx of multisports events in the 2022 calendar, including the Beijing Winter Olympics from February 4 to 20, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28-August 8) and Hangzhou Asian Games (September 10-25).
Norza said the VOC roughly knows which period is acceptable to all members, considering the Asian and Commonwealth events next year.
“It is a packed schedule for the athletes next year. We have proposed to the VOC, so let us wait for their decision.”
The Vietnam government wanted to postpone the SEA Games to June next year due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the capital city of Hanoi and 11 other cities and provinces, including Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, Hai Duong, Vin Phuc, Bac Giang and Phu Tho, where some of the events were scheduled to be held.
The virus is spreading fast from south to north, and the 21-day quarantine regulation will be a barrier to hosting the games at the end of this year, according to reports in Vietnam.
As many as 40 sports with 520 categories are expected to take place in this edition of the SEA Games.
The only time the biennial games has been cancelled since the inaugural edition in 1959 was in 1963, when Cambodia could not host the multisports games due to political instability.
Aside from that, Malaysia has never missed the SEA Games since its inception. – The Vibes, July 9, 2021
