Malaysia Has No Plan To Host Asian Games 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has no plan to host the Asian Games 2019 as it is costly, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. He said instead the ministry was giving a top priority on preparations to host the SEA Games 2017 as it would bring more benefits to national athletes. "Hosting the SEA Games 2017 is not as costly as hosting the Asian Games. The hosting of the SEA Games has been given the thumbs up by the Cabinet," he told reporters after attending a forum on empowering young professionals organised by Umno Youth's Young Professional Bureau here Saturday. Khairy was commenting on Vietnam's withdrawal from staging the Games due to economic pressures. Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, was awarded the Games in November 2012, beating Surabaya, Indonesia and Dubai. Meanwhile, Khairy said he would be attending the Asean sports ministers meeting soon to fine-tune Asean countries' bid to host the World Cup 2034. "We will decide next year whether we will make the bid or not. Bidding documents should be sent to the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) in 2020," he said. Asean Football Federation (AFF) secretary Azzuddin Ahmad was reported as saying that AFF had urged the ministry to speed up the bidding process with Asean members to host the World Cup 2034. The motion on the proposed bid was made during the Asian Sports Ministers meeting in Laos in December last year. -- BERNAMA