Penang: Penang's preparations as one of the main cluster states for the 2027 SEA Games are progressing smoothly with two venues being chosen to host the six sporting events that will be contested. Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mordi Bimol said the two locations are the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC) in Gelugor and the SPICE Arena in Bayan Lepas, which are currently being studied to meet the competition's requirements.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mordi Bimol held an engagement session with the Penang State Youth and Sports Department (JBSN) and visited the locations where the 2027 SEA Games will be held, namely at the SPICE Arena and PWCC. Six events will be contested in the state involving indoor sports, including sepak takraw, snooker, billiards, judo, boxing, table tennis, and floorball. This visit aims to understand the current state of the facilities and the technical requirements of each venue as input to the organisers.

Earlier, Mordi spent almost an hour inspecting the facilities at the location, besides being briefed on Penang's preparations for the 2027 SEA Games by Penang State Sports Council (MSN) director, Harry Chai Heng Hua, and executive director of Penang Stadium and Open Spaces Corporation, Mozakir Buyong Mokhtar.

Commenting further, Mordi said SPICE Arena was seen as suitable for sepak takraw, snooker, and billiards events, while PWCC had the potential to host judo, boxing, table tennis, and floorball events, but it was subject to further coordination by the organisers. He noted that the official list of venues would be released by the Secretariat of the Malaysian SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) after all matters were finalised.

He added that KBS would continue to play a role in coordinating and supporting in terms of policy and ecosystem sports development. Apart from Penang, two other states, Sarawak and Johor, were also chosen to co-host the 2027 SEA Games with Kuala Lumpur.