Minister of Youth and Sports encourages SEA Games 2027 to be a stepping stone for the Olympics

JAKARTA - The Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora), Erick Thohir, continues to encourage the holding of the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia to become a stepping stone to a higher multi-branch by prioritizing the numbers that are contested in the Olympics.

The idea related to the focus was discussed again by Erick in his meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia, Mohammad Iman Hascarya Kusumo, at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Office, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, February 20, 2026.

Erick said that Indonesia is currently preparing for the sports festival of Southeast Asian countries while continuing to build communication with Malaysia so that the above ideas can be realized next year.

"As hosts, they are confident to become the overall champions. So, we have to start preparing properly again," Erick told the media after holding the meeting.

Currently, there are 38 sports that have been included in the list to be competed in Malaysia later in accordance with the requirements of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), suitability of the venue, and additional considerations.

Erick said that the details of what numbers would be auctioned there so far did not exist because they were still in the negotiation stage, but Indonesia had prepared in advance with various scenarios that could happen.

"The Chairman of the Indonesian NOC (Raja Sapta Oktohari) has explained several scenarios that we must anticipate so that we from the Ministry of Youth and Sports have started to prepare the National Training Center (National Training Center) has started to do now," said Erick.

Indonesia has previously had informal communication with the Malaysian Olympic Committee (NOC Malaysia) regarding the SEA Games having to play a function for a larger event, such as the Olympics, so that Southeast Asian countries can be competitive in the largest four-year sports event.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia), Raja Sapta Oktohari, said that Malaysia also had the same spirit regarding this plan. He hopes that this communication will continue to be established so that it can give birth to new ideas that are fresher.

"It's not just to satisfy the host in general, but also to maximize so that all participants involved also get the maximum benefit," said Okto, the nickname of Raja Sapta Oktohari.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Iman said that the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is ready to support and support all steps and preparations from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Indonesian NOC, including deploying Indonesian supporters there.

"As for the preparation of supporters and all sorts of things, I think because the distance between Indonesia and Malaysia is not too far, it will probably be enough, more than enough. The number of Indonesian citizens in Malaysia is also quite a lot," he said.

Indonesia previously achieved a great achievement at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand by finishing in second place in the final standings of medal collection. This position exceeded the target of the third position which was announced at the beginning.