Abd Karim: Free tickets to Games’ grand opening limited due to restricted number of seats

KUCHING (Aug 12): Tickets to the opening ceremony of the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma XXI) this Saturday (Aug 17) are limited due to the seating capacity of Stadium Sarawak.

According to Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, not all seats are open to public spectators as some are also reserved for other groups involved in the event.

“Unfortunately, we cannot allocate all the seats to the public because athletes, those who are performing, as well as other parties involved, also need them.

“The stadium has total of only about 40,000 seats, where some are being used for the stage area.

“It does not have enough to accommodate more visitors,” he told reporters when met after officiating at the closing of the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak’s Innovative and Creative Circle (ICC) Convention, at Raia Hotel and Convention Centre here today.

Nevertheless, Abdul Karim extended his appreciation to the community, especially those in Kuching, who were willing to queue up for the tickets.

He said those who had missed out could still watch the opening ceremony via the LCD screen at the adjacent Celebration Square, as well as via livestreams broadcast by the official media such as TV Sarawak (TVS), Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), as well as all social media platforms run under the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas).

Tickets for the opening ceremony of Sukma XXI had been scooped up at the Sarawak Stadium grounds yesterday, with thousands of people had been queuing since 7.30am, according to a report by Ukas.

The distribution of tickets, based on first-come, first-served basis, only commenced at 10am, but many fans were willing to come for the free tickets, which also qualifies the ticket-holders a lucky draw entry.

A total of 7,500 tickets were distributed today, while another 7,500 tickets would be distributed tomorrow.

It is stated that each individual can only claim up to a maximum of four tickets.