KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council (NSC) is targeting at least 70 per cent of Malaysian athletes to finish on the podium at the 2027 SEA Games, which will be held from September 18 to 29 in Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
NSC’s Director-General, Jefri Ngadirin, said the target was based on a presentation on the implementation status of athlete preparation programmes, including the Podium Programme and Para Programme, at the second Athletes’ Progress Committee meeting held today.
He said the presentation also outlined athletes’ performance assessments based on world rankings and achievements at the world, Asian and SEA Games levels.
“This has been presented, and it appears we are making good progress towards achieving the target,” he told reporters after the meeting at the NSC headquarters here today.
The meeting was also attended by representatives from the National Sports Institute (NSI), the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (MPM), the Education Ministry, the Higher Education Ministry, the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), as well as both Chef-de-Mission (CDM) for Malaysia’s contingent to the 2027 SEA Games and 2027 Para SEA Games.
Jefri said the NSC will also establish three sports village clusters in Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur and Penang to provide integrated support services for athletes ahead of the Games.
He said the sports villages would house various services under one roof, including from the National Sports Institute (NSI), to ensure athletes receive comprehensive or “360-degree” support throughout the Games.
Meanwhile, he said Malaysia has requested the organisers to accommodate the national contingent in hotels separate from those of other countries to facilitate operational coordination and service delivery for athletes.
“In fact, there will not be much additional cost because accommodation is already provided by the organisers. We are only requesting that the hotel be reserved exclusively for the Malaysian contingent,” he said.
Jefri added that the NSC has also established a performance evaluation and audit panel to objectively monitor the implementation of athlete preparation programmes.
The independent panel will be chaired by former national athlete, Datuk Marina Chin.
He said the panel was set up to avoid any conflict of interest should the NSC assess its own programmes, while ensuring that programme monitoring and performance audits are conducted transparently and effectively in the lead-up to the 2027 SEA Games.
He also said official visits by the Chef-de-Mission to training centres for sports not involved in the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya will begin after next year’s Commonwealth Games to obtain direct feedback on the needs and challenges faced by each national sports association. – BERNAMA
