PENANG: Early coordination between organising committees and state clusters is crucial to ensuring preparations for the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games 2027 are carried out systematically and effectively.

Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Operation) Datu Hii Chang Kee said such coordination is essential to ensure all parties understand the scope of their respective responsibilities and identify interdependencies between committees from an early stage.

“Each committee must understand its respective roles and responsibilities, as well as identify areas that require support and cooperation from other committees.

“This is important so that any issues involving interdependencies between committees can be identified early and coordination measures can be taken effectively,” he said.

He said this when officiating at the Coordination Workshop on Strengthening Preparations for the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games 2027 here, which runs from Sunday until 15 September.

According to him, successfully hosting international sporting events requires cooperation across ministries, agencies and the state governments involved, rather than relying on any single committee or agency.

He said developing an interdependency matrix among the organising committees is among the key measures to ensure the planning and implementation of each component of the Games are systematically coordinated.

“This matrix not only helps identify the responsibilities of each committee but also allows matters requiring decisions, resource support, coordination or joint action to be addressed at an early stage.

“With clear coordination, we can reduce the risk of overlapping duties, gaps in responsibilities and delays in implementation,” he said.

The three-day workshop brings together representatives from various ministries and state governments, including the Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya, Sarawak, Penang and Johor clusters, to exchange views, coordinate requirements and further define their respective roles ahead of the Games in 2027.

Sarawak’s participation in the workshop reflects the state’s commitment to ensuring its preparations and assigned responsibilities are carried out in a coordinated manner and in line with the requirements of hosting the regional sporting events.

Also present were Deputy Johor State Secretary (Sports, Youth and Volunteerism) Dato On Jabbar @ Ja’afar and MASOC Penang Cluster Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mozakir Buyong Mokhtar. -UKASnews