KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia has stepped up its protest over several sports being left out of the 2027 SEA Games, with Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir turning to sports diplomacy to seek answers from Malaysia.
Erick said he had written to Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari seeking an explanation and Malaysia’s commitment to upholding fairness and sportsmanship at the regional Games.
He said sports should bring Southeast Asian countries closer together and allow athletes to compete, rather than limit their chances on the regional stage.
“It is sad because sport teaches us to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship. As neighbours, we should support the development of sport at the regional level.
“This shows that we have world-class athletes. If sports that are contested at the Olympics are not allowed to compete, it is as if we are betraying the efforts of athletes who have raised their respective national flags,” he said, according to Indonesian media reports.
Erick pointed to Southeast Asian athletes’ success in winning Olympic gold medals, citing the Philippines’ two gymnastics golds, Thailand’s achievement in taekwondo, Vietnam in shooting, and Indonesia in sport climbing and weightlifting.
Ten sports have been left out of the 2027 SEA Games programme, including eight which Indonesia considers among its strengths — sport climbing, rowing, beach volleyball, wrestling, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, chess and handball.
Erick said Indonesia would also engage other Southeast Asian countries as part of its sports diplomacy efforts to seek clarification on the decision.
He said the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and national sports associations had given him feedback, while several sports ministers had also expressed support.
“We have also asked the NOC to join us in pursuing this matter through sports diplomacy,” he said.
However, Taufiq had earlier said there should be no issue over the selection of sports as the programme was decided according to the processes and regulations of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) and agreed upon by member countries.
The 2027 SEA Games programme has already been finalised, with 473 events across 43 sports confirmed at the third SEAGF executive committee meeting on Oct 30.
The meeting was attended online by presidents and representatives of NOC from across the region, with the programme determined following deliberations involving the Olympic Council of Malaysia, the Malaysian SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) and the SEAGF executive committee in accordance with the federation’s charter and rules.
The 34th edition of the biennial games will be held from Sept 18-29 across four hosting clusters — Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Penang and Johor.