Sarawak Volleyball Association pushes to host 2027 SEA Games volleyball in Sibu

SIBU (Sept 1): Sarawak Volleyball Association (SVA) deputy president Dr Gregory Hii has lobbied for the 2027 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games volleyball to be held in Sibu.

He said Sarawak’s recent success in staging the 21st Malaysia Games’ (Sukma XXI) volleyball event in Sibu speaks volume of the association’s capabilities in handling the event.

“This is a big opportunity not to be missed and let us all lobby hard to bring volleyball to Sibu when Sarawak co-host SEA Games 2027,” he said, following a recent announcement that Sarawak would be co-hosting the SEA Games in 2027.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had said that apart from Sarawak, Sabah and Penang had also agreed to co-host the sporting event.

Hannah said with the estimated hosting cost of RM700 million, Sarawak had agreed to cover half while Sabah RM100 million and Penang RM15 million.

On that, Hii said the Sibu Indoor Volleyball Stadium, which had been upgraded with the installation of a RM50,000 LED panel system, is a good place to stage international volleyball events.

It is also the first stadium in the country to be installed with such LED panel system that measures 6.4m wide and 3.5m high, which would display not only the scores but also live feeds and other visuals to spectators, he said.

He said during the recent Sukma, thousands of volleyball fans thronged the stadium each day to watch all the matches, and the stadium was filled to full capacity.

Hii said he was truly encouraged with the decision of Malaysia to host the 2027 SEA Games after a lapse of so many years.

As volleyball was included in the previous SEA Games in Cambodia in 2023 and as former president of Malaysia Volleyball Association (MAVA), Hii said he was there at the venue to help welcome the dignitaries.

He said it would also be a big boost to the development of the sport as Sarawak strives to be the volleyball powerhouse for the nation.

Additionally, he said the hosting of the sport will also help boost business opportunities for other sectors such as tourism, food, transport and hotel.