DATUK Mumtaz Jaafar is afraid, very afraid. No, not of the chaos engulfing the Philippines Sea Games but of the mess hall at the Games Village in Clark New City.
She feels that not only is the wide-ranging menu on offer simply too good to resist, the organisers are also serving six meals per day!
“We arrived three days before athletics start and, after looking at the mess hall, I’m worried that some of my athletes might over-indulge and put on extra weight.
“The food is delicious, even better than those served at some hotels... and it’s open 23 hours every day.
“With the athletics venue across the road from the Village, I'm afraid they might have too much time in their hands and the mess hall might become the focal point,” said Mumtaz, who is the deputy president of Malaysian Athletics Federation.
Athletes living at the Games Village are served breakfast from 5am, while the last call for supper is 4am the next day. In between, there are four more scheduled “feeding times”.
MAF have set a three-gold target this time — three down from KL2017 haul.
Mumtaz, a former sprint queen, visited the stadium and found the track to be a “little soft”.
“It’s a new stadium with a newly-laid track and I found it to be a little soft. That’s one of the reasons why we came early so that our runners can get used to the condition here,” she said.