JOHOR BAHRU: The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) must create a policy to ensure core sports that can win medals at international competitions are retained in the Malaysia Games (SUKMA), according to Johor’s Youth, Sports, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman, Mohd Hairi Mad Shah.
He expressed concerns about states dropping core sports such as canoeing, boxing, and football from SUKMA, arguing it would hinder the development of potential sports and athlete talent in the country.
“I hope the KBS led by Minister Hannah Yeoh makes a decision or policy so that core sports that are played at the international level with many athletes should be retained in SUKMA,” he said when met after the ‘Sup Tulang Merah’ (Red Bone Soup) distribution ceremony in conjunction with Ramadan at the Larkin state legislative assembly constituency yesterday.
He also called on the National Sports Council (MSN) and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to emphasise the importance of maintaining sports that have won medals at major events like the SEA Games, Commonwealth Games, and Olympics.
While he welcomed Selangor’s proposal to introduce pickleball in SUKMA 2026, he stressed that trending sports should not replace established core sports.
He expressed concerns that pickleball could just be a passing trend, and highlighted the importance of preserving traditional sports. Discussions on the 2026 SUKMA events will continue, with optional sports to be decided by June. – BERNAMA
