The cabinet meeting today has turned down an offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia citing financial and economic reasons.
The Youth and Sports Ministry, which announced the decision in a press release, said the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) offer of £100 million (RM603 million) is not enough to host the large-scale event.
In addition, the economic benefits of hosting the event could not be ascertained given the short timeframe.
“The Madani government thanks the CGF for offering (Malaysia) to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“However, the government wants to focus on sports development and the people’s welfare and well-being at this time,” the ministry said.
Speaking at a press conference in Angkasapuri, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said there was no external pressure that had influenced the government’s decision.
“That was not a factor at all. Actually, a lot of it has to do with ringgit and sen. When we assess the viability of hosting the games.
“The length of time needed and the costs, they were seen to be particularly prohibitive,” said the communications minister.
“It is not because of pressure from any other external group. It was really looking at whether it will be viable or not,” he said.
Malaysia had previously hosted the games in 1998.
The 2026 games were originally slated to be held in the Australian state of Victoria in March of that year but it withdrew its bid in July last year after finding the cost of holding the games had doubled from its initial estimates to AU$6.865 billion (RM21.22 billion).
This is despite having to pay AU$380 million (RM1.17 billion) as a settlement for scrapping the games.
The CGF has since been looking for a new home for the games.
According to the Youth and Sports Ministry, a CGF delegation held a briefing for its minister Hannah Yeoh and Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan on Feb 5 to discuss holding the games in Malaysia. - Mkini
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