SHAH ALAM, Aug 4 — Selangor is not using its status as host state to gain an advantage in its bid to become champions of the 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), but instead wants all events to be contested fairly.
As such, state executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship Mohd Najwan Halimi said the biennial Games will prioritise objective events to ensure scoring is more transparent and fair for all contingents.
This approach will enable more objective assessment of athletes' performances while making a positive contribution to the development of Malaysia's sports industry.
"Although hosting SUKMA naturally gives the host state an advantage, Selangor's approach this time is to ensure that every state is given a fair opportunity. In other words, we are not focusing solely on our own advantage.
"That is why we have reduced the number of events in certain sports, particularly those with a subjective element, as there is a possibility and tendency for states that dominate those sports to also dominate those events.
"So we are increasing the number of objective events, where the scoring process is more transparent. We want to ensure fairness for all states while also maintaining the quality of the competition," he said during a live appearance on the 'Konti Sukan' programme on Radio Selangor FM100.9 today.
Najwan added that, overall, 468 events across 37 sports would be contested, comprising 30 high-performance sports and seven additional sports.
"This means the 30 sports are those already included in the Olympic programme, while we have added seven more. If a host state chooses not to stage these additional sports, that is not an issue.
"Initially, we planned to include only 34 sports, but we accepted requests from athletes and took into account the views of various stakeholders for the benefit of sports development," he said.
The 22nd SUKMA will be held from August 15 to August 24, featuring 52 venues across the state, with the opening ceremony scheduled at Dataran Kemerdekaan in Shah Alam.
In addition to the 14 state contingents, Brunei Darussalam will participate as an invited contingent. This year's SUKMA will be the country's second-last edition of the Games before Kelantan hosts the event in 2028.
As the host state, Selangor has set a target of winning 80 gold medals.
