KUALA LUMPUR – The exclusion of kabaddi and silambam in the 2024 Malaysian Games (Sukma) was based on the collective decision of the Sukma Supreme Council, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh yesterday.
Yeoh’s comment follows her predecessor Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s remark that the sports should have been listed as they were introduced as demonstration sports last year.
Yeoh said being the council’s chairman gives her no authority to overrule the decision.
“The decision was made by the (Sukma) supreme council involving all state exco. I cannot overrule it.
“I know the former (youth and sports) minister has said that I could use my position as a minister to override the decision. But I checked the rulebook, and it stated that the decision must be made collectively with all state exco in the supreme council.
If I make my own decision, it would mean that I disrespect the process.
“Kabaddi is not the only sport asking for our help, but other sports too,” she said at a press conference after visiting Wisma OCM in Jalan Hang Jebat here yesterday.
The Segambut MP also quashed any speculation that kabaddi and silambam are sports that belong to a particular community.
“I do not understand why, now, many people are saying that we are marginalising the Indians.
“There is no such thing because when I went to see a kabaddi tournament with K. Nagulendran (KBS secretary-general) recently, we were briefed that kabaddi now is multiracial.
“So, there seems to be mixed messaging,” she added.
Recently, National Sports Council director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail has openly laid out the selection criteria for the 21st edition of Sukma.
The clarification comes in response to Malaysian Kabaddi Association honorary secretary Peter Gopi questioning why the sport was sidelined for the upcoming Sukma games in Sarawak.
In a video, he claimed that he had previously spoken to Faizal and former ministry secretary-general Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayam on the addition of kabaddi and silambam into the Sukma medal tally. – The Vibes, March 30, 2023
