KORAT, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- The SEA Games Federation (SGF) must sit down and look at the overall objective of the SEA Games and decide once and for all, the structure and the list of sports to be contested, said National Sports Council director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong.
The current practice was that everytime there is a new host, new sports are included which put some of the participating countries in a bind as those sports might only be played in that particular country, he told a press conference for Malaysian journalists here Saturday.
"In the 2005 Manila SEA Games, there were sports like anis which was totally alien to Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei or even Indonesia and here they have muay thai, traditional boat racing.
"This trend must stop and the SGF must streamline a set of sports that can be competed so that there will be enough time for every country to prepare well in advance. What's the purpose of winning so many medals from anis or muay thai as it does not contribute to the overall development of sports in the regional Games.
"We should also focus on raising the standard of the Games through a proper judging system so as to eliminate discontentment among participating countries.
He added that poor judging, refereeing or biased judging has become a perennial problem but Games after Games there has been much talk but nothing concrete has happened.
"Incidents like what happened in boxing when the unhappy Filipinos just gave away their bouts without fighting, apparently due to biased judging, does not augur well for the Games," said Zolkples.
"I feel the Laos Games will be a good avenue to introduce any changes as they (Laos) will little or no vested interest in most of the sports."
Laos who will host the 2009 Games are expected to limit the number of sports to 25 and have indicated that gymnastics and basketball will not be included due to lack of facilities.
-- BERNAMA
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