KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Datuk Ayub Rahmat is disappointed with the government's decision to reject the offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The Malaysian government felt that the Commonwealth Games Federation's (CGF) offer of £100 million (RM603 million) was insufficient to cover the costs of hosting the event.
Ayub said that the decision by the government was likely due to objections from certain quarters, who were concerned about the economic factor.
The national weightlifters consistently contributed gold medals in recent editions and were keen to see the quadrennial Games held here.
Aniq Kasdan and Aznil Bidin won gold medals in weightlifting events, while Erry Hidayat took silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
"It is the government's right to make decisions, but as a sports association, we are disappointed. It was probably because of objections of certain groups due to concerns about financial burdens," said Ayub.
"When Malaysia hosted the Games in 1998, there was an economic crisis too. Since that year, we have improved."
"Hopefully, after this, there are no rumours of hosting the Asian Games here. It won't bring any direct profit to the country. The same goes for the Sea Games."
Meanwhile, Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) secretary-general Maradana Chok understood the government's situation.
"We respect the decision. Our focus is to develop world-class athletes who can deliver medals, whether or not Malaysia is hosting these competitions."
Malaysia Rugby (MR) honorary secretary Fahmy Jalil said hosting the games would have allowed Malaysian rugby players to play against high-level teams.
"We could have scaled down the Games," he said.
