KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government's decision to co-host the 2027 Sea Games with three states — Sarawak, Sabah and Penang — could put Malaysia closer to winning a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics.
The decision also could boost the reach of sports outside of the Klang Valley and lessen the financial burden of the federal government.
Sports analyst Sadek Mustaffa said that it's a good move from the government and the hosting of the Sea Games should be well planned to have maximum output for Malaysian sports.
"It's a good decision by the government to co-host the Sea Games... the sports facilities in Sabah, Sarawak and Penang will be upgraded to Olympic standard. Millions will be spent for the Sea Games but this will be good for the country," said Sadek.
"It's good for state governments too, the Sea Games will spark domestic tourism. It will be a good short term economic boost for the states. The economic outlook is positive but the government has to spend or invest first."
Sadek said the 2027 Sea Games could be the stepping stone to prepare Malaysia's medal prospects for the 2028 Olympics.
"There are around 36 months for the 2027 Sea Games and there's so many things that need to be done in this period and it should result in a good performance for Malaysian athletes in the LA Olympics," said the Universiti Teknologi Mara Sports Science and Recreation senior lecturer.
"The aim should be to get as many athletes as possible to qualify for the LA Olympics from the 2027 Sea Games but it shouldn't just end there. There must be plans to make sure the Olympic-bound athletes can win medals."
"We have seen athletes doing well in the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma), we need to work on making them into medal prospects at the LA Olympics."
"The focus should not be only on sports like badminton and track cycling, we need to look into sports like diving, shooting and archery. We need to expose these athletes to high level-competition so they will be ready for the 2028 LA Olympics."