11 Nov JOHOR TAKES PRECAUTIONARY STEPS AND POSTPONES SUKMA XX TO 2022

ISKANDAR PUTERI (11 November): The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has caused major sporting events around the world to come to a grinding halt, this time forcing the 20th Malaysian Games (SUKMA XX Johor) – initially scheduled for 2nd to 10th April 2021 – to be postponed to 2022.

This, after a meeting was held with the Malaysian Games Supreme Committee Council last Monday which finalized the decision to postpone the SUKMA XX Johor for a second time, due to the current state of the coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia.The meeting, which was chaired by the Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican also decided on the postponement of the PARA SUKMA XX Johor 2020 games which was initially scheduled for 8th to 13th March 2021 with both Games to still be hosted by Johor.

Johor State Tourism, Youth and Sports Committee Chairman, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, in a special press conference held earlier today at the Bangunan Dato’ Jaafar Muhammad, Kota Iskandar expressed his concerns over the increase of cases in Malaysia as of late, citing it as one of the main reasons that forced their hands in postponing the biennial games.

“As organizers, we highly prioritize the health and safety of the athletes, officials and volunteers as well as the cost of organizing which is likely to increase in terms of adhering to the health and safety SOPs, hence the Johor state government has no choice but to postpone the 20th edition of SUKMA to year 2022,” he said.

He added that the calendar year for sporting events in 2021 was also taken into consideration to avoid gruelling and strenuous training schedules for the participating contingents. The state government does not want to rush into proceeding with this edition of SUKMA as Sabah, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan and most states within Peninsular Malaysia excluding Pahang, Kelantan, Perlis and Sarawak are under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).

Also present at the special press conference were SUKMA XX Johor 2020 Chief Executive Officer, Tuan Haji ‘On Jabbar, Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn. Bhd. (KPRJ) Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Haji Mohd Noorazam Dato’ Haji Osman and Johor State Sports Council (MSNJ) Director, Mohd Gadaffie Abd Aziz.

Besides that, the amendment to the dates of public examinations which was decided by the Ministry of Education last Sunday was also discussed in the meeting. The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) examinations were amended to 22 February 2021. Meanwhile, the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination was moved to 8th March 2021 and will involve a total of 171 athletes.

As a token of appreciation for their hard work and commitment thus far, the state government, through MSNJ will be handing out incentives of RM1,000 to 100 gold medal prospects and RM500 to 984 athletes, coaches, managers and staff of MSNJ who have been playing key roles in preparing the athletes for the Games.

“The state government will also be offering Diploma in Sports Science Management courses through MSNJ in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to athletes under MSNJ who plan to further their studies.”

“This programme is exclusively catered for the athletes under MSNJ whereby they will not be required to be present on-campus and classes will be held on weekends at the athletes’ hostel or MSNJ headquarters,” added Datuk Onn Hafiz.

Meanwhile, MSNJ director Mohd Gadaffie Abd Aziz said the council has reassessed the athletes’ training programme while urging the Johor state contingent to make full use of the ready-built venues.

“While most of the facilities will be used by the Johor state athletes as they undergo their training for SUKMA, the venues can also be used by members of the public, subject to the fees that will be determined,” said Gadaffie.

The last time Johor hosted the Malaysian Games was the fourth edition in year 1992. The SUKMA XX Johor 2020, which was supposed to take place from 2nd to 10th April 2021, would have involved three districts namely Johor Bahru, Muar and Kota Tinggi with a total of 31 sporting events on show.