Malaysia asks Indonesia to drop Asian Games bid

Malaysia asks Indonesia to drop Asian Games bid

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Malaysia has asked Indonesia to drop
its bid to host the 2006 Asian Games for the sake of its own,
saying the rivalry between them would undermine their hopes to
host the event.

Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports Tan Sri Dato Haji
Muhyiddin told a news conference here on Sunday that national
sports councils of both countries would hold talks to find the
best solution to their conflicting interests.

"We are afraid that the two Southeast Asian countries will
lose their bids. It's better if Indonesia support us this time
around, and Malaysia will give full support to Indonesia's bid in
the future," he said.

Muhyiddin dismissed the possibility of the two countries
jointly holding the event.

"There would be serious logistical problems if the event was
held in two different places."

He said that president of the Olympics Council of Asia, Sheikh
Jabbar Ahmad Al-Sabah, had personally approved of Malaysia's bid
regardless of the fact that another Southeast Asia country,
Thailand, hosted the Asiad last year.

"The OCA doesn't name a hosting country based on region but on
how prepared a bidding country is," he said.

Apart from the likelihood of Indonesia's bid, Malaysia will
face a challenge from Hong Kong. India, Qatar, Syria, and
Uzbekistan also have expressed their interests. OCA will announce
the 2006 Asiad host in November.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia's success to finish second in the 20th
Southeast Asian Games would motivate its athletes to reach new
heights in the 2006 Asian Games if it was held on their home
soil.

"We have always groomed our athletes who will compete in
international events in a five-year training program, such as
what we did prior to the 1998 Commonwealth Games which we
hosted."

Malaysia spends 200 million ringgit for the long-term program
which usually involves 3,000 athletes, according to Muhyiddin.
Only 300 of them are eventually selected to the national team.

Success

Its success in hosting the Commonwealth Games encouraged
Malaysia to pursue a bid for the Asian Games.

Muhyiddin said Kuala Lumpur would use sports facilities built
for the Commonwealth Games in the Shah Alam Sports Complex to
host the Asian Games.

"After successfully staging the 1998 Commonwealth Games, we
believe we have all the facilities and infrastructure to host the
Games," said Muhyiddin, who also chairs the 2001 Malaysia SEA
Games organizing committee.

The complex has a 100,000-seat main stadium, 4,000-seat
aquatic stadium and 5,000-seat indoor stadium. It also has a
monorail train service from the complex to the downtown of Kuala
Lumpur.

Malaysia plans to stage the Asiad in three locations: Kuala
Lumpur, Penang and Johor Baru.

During the media conference, pictures of the complex, logo and
the mascot of Cyber Alang, which symbolized Malaysia's readiness
to face the millennium era, were displayed.

Muhyiddin said the bidding committee would organize a walk to
invite Malaysians to support the bid.

"On Nov. 6, nearly two million people are expected to join the
Walk for the Nation movement as their support for the bid," he
said.

However, the minister declined to mention the budget to bid
for the Asiad host.

"I can't mention the budget. We just try to be modest in costs
because some Southeast Asian countries are still recovering from
the economic crisis," he said. "The figure will be reasonable and
not excessive."

Muhyiddin said if Malaysia won its Asian Games bid, the
council and the government would consider bidding for the 2008
Olympic Games.

"We've learned from Seoul, which hosted the 1986 Asiad before
hosting the 1988 Olympics. I hope we can follow in its
footsteps," he said. (yan)