By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Dec 12: The Sarawak Stadium in Petra Jaya will undergo a major facelift from January 2026 and is set for completion by June 2027, in time for the 2027 SEA Games opening ceremony in September.
Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Malaysian government has agreed that the opening ceremony will be held in Kuching, with Sarawak Stadium as the venue.
“The contractor is expected to receive the letter of award before the end of the year, with renovation work scheduled to start in January 2026.
“It has to be completed at least by June 2027, because the SEA Games will be held in September 2027,” he told reporters during a press conference at Baitul Makmur 2 today.
Abdul Karim, who recently led a Sarawak delegation to the SEA Games in Thailand, said the visit provided valuable experience for Sarawak’s hosting plans.
“The team observed how to set up operations and manage multi-nation sports events. We gained valuable experience to apply when we host the Games in 2027,” he added.
He also mentioned that the Sarawak Cabinet has approved budgets for both organising the games and upgrading the facilities.
“The main organising committee is headed by Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operations) Datu Hii Chang Kee. This is the same team we entrusted to run the Malaysia Games (Sukma) last year.
“However, this time around, the responsibility is even bigger, because it is going to be a regional or international event. But I’m very sure the team we entrusted will manage it well,” he emphasised. – DayakDaily
