KUALA LUMPUR: The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) has disagreed with the Philippines’ proposal to host the 2020 Asean Para Games (APG) during the Aidilfitri Hari Raya celebration in May.
Its president, Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin said the organisation rejected the proposal and was communicating with the Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) to expedite its meeting to discuss a suitable date with all competing countries.
As several major sporting events such as the Johor Para Sukma (Aug 16-22) and 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games (Aug 25-Sept 6) would be held in the third quarter of this year, he was of the opinion that a suitable date to host APG would be after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Prior to this, the Philippines proposed that the 10th edition of the Games be held from May 17 which would fall in the month of Ramadan, or May 26, three days after Hari Raya that falls on May 23.
“The tentative dates were proposed verbally and we also opposed them likewise and through WhatsApp application and e-mail. We are trying our best to persuade APSF to hold its meeting as soon as possible so that we can discuss the new date together, especially among Islamic countries,” he told reporters after attending a brief ceremony with the sponsors at the Paralympic Centre of Excellence, here yesterday.
The Games, which was originally scheduled to take place on Jan 18-24, was postponed to March 20-28 due to financial and logistical difficulties faced by the host, however, the event might be postponed for the second time due to the COVID-19 infection.
Earlier, Megat D Shahriman presented the starting development grant worth RM2,000 each to 24 sports associations under PCM to run their activities and later, signed an agreement of understanding with Wild Rocket Event Management Sdn Bhd to organise a ‘Go for Gold’ charity run in conjunction with the 2020 Paralympic Games. – Bernama
