Malaysia Paralympic Council Wants Asean Para Games To Be Held After Tokyo Paralympics

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC) has suggested for the Asean Para Games (APG) in the Philippines to be held after the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, scheduled for Aug 25-Sept 6, so as not to disrupt athletes’ preparations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen many sporting events, including the Paralympic qualifiers either postponed or cancelled, MPC president Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said it was best that the APG be held after September. Besides this, he also raised the possibility that if the 10th APG went on as planned before the Paralympics, then Malaysia would most likely not send a contingent as it would disrupt preparations for Tokyo. “Best to hold it after the Paralympics… with so many events postponed and athletes not able to train or participate in events overseas, I feel the APG should be postponed. “It does not make sense to have two major tournaments back to back because all focus will be on Paralympics,” he told reporters after his video conference with the Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) at the Kampung Pandan Paralympic Excellence Centre here Monday. The MPC, before this, had protested the decision by hosts Philippines to set a new date - May 26-June 2, for the APG on the grounds that it was too close to the Eid al-Fitr celebrations on May 25-26. Megat Shahriman said all decisions taken during the video conference will be discussed with the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports for further decisions to be made. Among the issues raised today concerned the dates and venue of the championship, types of sport to be contested and standard operating procedures with regard to the ongoing COVID-19 break, such as guidelines and evacuation centres. “We want all nine member countries to make a decision on whether it (APG) should proceed or not. This matter (COVID-19) should not be taken lightly and I feel a decision cannot be made via video conferencing. “However, it is also clear that we cannot make any decision as yet until April 30 following Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision last Friday for all major public gatherings, including sporting events, to be postponed until April 30 or cancelled,” he said. The APG was supposed to be held from Jan 18-24, then postponed to March 20-28 due to budget and logistics issues on the part of the organisers, before being postponed yet again as a result of the COVID-19 situation. -- BERNAMA