Lee (seated sixth right), Johari (fifth right) posing with members of the Pahang Sukma committee and their Sarawak counterparts during the dinner.
Lee presents a souvenir to Pahang Youth and Sports exco chairman Johari at the dinner in Kuching.
KUCHING: As Sarawak aims to be a game changer as best ever Sukma host, Assistant Sports Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin has called for the powers to make an early scrutiny of the venues and facilities for Sukma XVIII.
Hence, he invited the National Sports Council, Sukan Malaysia (Sukma) Supreme Council and national sports bodies to make an early inspection of the venues to avoid unnecessary delays as problems cropping up would affect the smooth running of the 18th edition of Sukma XVIII which the state will host next year.
“Learning from my past experiences as Sarawak’s chef-de-mission at Sukma 2010 in Melaka, 2012 in Pahang and 2014 in Perlis where the organisers faced problems, we don’t want that to happen to Sarawak as we are targeting to be host to one of the best Sukma,” said Assistant Sports Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
Lee said if the relevant authorities discover any faults and problems on any venue and facility, they should inform Sarawak immediately for remedial measures.
“Please don’t tell us at the last minute,” he said during the dinner to fete the delegation from the 16-member Pahang Sukma 2016 state committee at a restaurant in a local hotel on Wednesday.
The Pahang delegation was led by Pahang Youth and Sports exco chairman Dato Mohd Johari Hussain.
Also in the delegation were Panching state assemblyman Dato Mohd Zaili Besar, Lepar state assemblyman Dato Mohd Shohaimi Jusoh, Pahang Sports Council director Mohamed Rashdan Mohamed Razali and Youth and Pahang Sports Department director Dato Kamarulazman Hassan Mansor.
Lee, who is also Assistant Minister of Communication, said the new RM163-million Aquatics Centre at Sarawak Stadium complex was one of the new facilities built by Sarawak in preparation for Sukma XVIII and it had conformed with the requirements and standards set by the world swimming governing body Fina and Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum).
Apart from serving as the venue for aquatic events for Sukma XVIII, Lee said the Aquatic Centre would also be able to host the aquatics events for the 29th SEA Games that Malaysia will host in 2017.
Lee commended the Pahang Sukma committee for their early visit to various venues for Sukma XVIII, saying that this was a “smart” preparation for the Games and they can plan their budget early.
He added that it was also good for the visitors to understand how costly it was to send a big contingent to compete in the Sarawak Sukma.
“This time around, all the Peninsula Malaysia teams will feel the pinch in funding their trips to Sarawak whereas we have spent so much to travel to other states to participate in previous Sukma,” said Lee.