KUALA LUMPUR: The decision to decentralise the hosting of the 2027 Sea Games across four different states is set to save the federal government over RM400 million.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh disclosed that the games will cost roughly RM700 million to organise but over half of that amount will be covered by three state governments - Sarawak, Sabah and Penang.
In addition to the three states, the games will also be held in Kuala Lumpur.
"We sent letters to the leadership of all the states and we invited them to become co-hosts of the 2027 Sea Games," said Yeoh.
"After sending a reminder, only three states agreed and were willing to commit an allocation.
"Sarawak have (pledged) over RM300 million, which is roughly 50 per cent of the total costs, Sabah are contributing RM100 million and Penang will allocate RM15 million.
"We anticipate it will cost roughly RM700 million in total but after deducting the allocations from the state governments, the commitment from the Federal Government is not too much.
"This is why the cabinet has agreed with this concept.
"A working committee will be set up soon to work out the finer details, such as which sports will be held by the states and where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held."
Yeoh added that decentralising the Sea Games will allow more states to receive a spillover effect.
"The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) visited the Sarawak Malaysia Games recently and saw how it is possible to organise games successfully in other places (besides Klang Valley)," said Yeoh.
"In addition to saving costs (for Federal Government), the athletes and tourists that come for the games can also visit the various locations and not just Kuala Lumpur.
"The states will also benefit from a spillover effect, thus it is a win-win situation."
The Federal Government officially accepted the Sea Games Federation's offer for Malaysia to host the 2027 Sea Games yesterday.
The decision was approved by the Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Anwar.
Malaysia last hosted the Sea Games in 2017 when the majority of events were held in the Klang Valley.