KUCHING: Sarawak has begun early preparations to co-host the 2027 SEA Games with the establishment of the 2027 SEA Games Secretariat (Sarawak Cluster).
The matter was decided during the first SEA Games Secretariat Meeting chaired by Deputy State Secretary (Operations) Datuk Hii Chang Kee recently.
Under the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Secretariat Structure for the Sarawak Cluster, Hii will serve as chairman, assisted by Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development permanent secretary Dzulkornain Masron as deputy chairman.
The vice-chairmen are Nancy Jolhi, Mu’azamir Jili and Seroji Ludin, while acting chief executive officer of the Sarawak Sports Corporation Khairul Nizam Morshidi will serve as secretary.
In his address, Hii said the establishment of the secretariat is important in initiating tasks for all committees involved to ensure the smooth organisation of the 2027 SEA Games in Sarawak according to international standards.
The Sarawak Cluster LOC structure is divided into four main divisions, each tasked with carrying out specific roles to ensure the smooth running of the games.
The Strategic, Governance and Communication Division is headed by Jenny Lee Siak Ne; the Corporate Services and Commercial Affairs Division by Asmawaty @ Siti Asmah Ahmad; the Venue Preparations, Games Operation and Stakeholders Experience Division by Abdul Rani Abdullah; while the Digital, Technology and Games Systems Division is headed by Puvindra Pubeion Jayakumar.
During the meeting, several committees also presented the latest updates on preparations, particularly on the completion of competition venues.
For the record, Sarawak will host 17 out of the 38 sports featured in the 2027 SEA Games, scheduled to take place from Sept 18 to 29.
The sports to be hosted are aquatics, weightlifting, e-sports, gymnastics, golf, cricket, shooting, muay thai, petanque, squash, taekwondo, tennis, wushu, basketball, tenpin bowling, lawn bowls and archery.
In addition, Sarawak has also been given the honour of hosting the opening ceremony of the prestigious sporting event.
