KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — The  Youth and Sports Ministry will be backing the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s bid to host the 2030 Asian Games, said its minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

He urged OCM to submit a working paper on the bid to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet.

 "We are not only looking at the 2030 Asian Games but also the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG). The working paper can be submitted to me after which I will bring it to the Cabinet to be deliberated,” he told reporters after attending a town hall session involving the ministry and the Badminton Association of Malaysia at the Malaysian Badminton Academy at Bukit Kiara here today.

He said that even though hosting the  two major multi-sports meets would involve high costs, these would be deliberated on before the nod was given by the government.

After Malaysia having successfully organised the CWG in 1998 and also hosting a number of the Sea Games, OCM president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria yesterday said that the time had come for the country to host its first ever Asian Games in 2030.

Huangzhou in China will be hosting the next Asian Games in 2022 while Nagoya, Japan  the 2026 edition.

Malaysia’s neighbours Thailand and Indonesia have already hosted the biggest multi-sports event in Asia.

India and the Philippines have already indicated that they are keen to host the 2030 edition.

Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq gave the assurance that the process of placing 200 students showing potential in badminton at the academy would be settled by the middle of this year.

He said his ministry was working with the education ministry to smoothen the process. — Bernama