No reason to postpone SEA Games: Malaysia Olympic official
A street vendor rests under a poster featuring the official logo of the 22nd South East Asia Games (SEAGAMES) scheduled for December in Vietnam. The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) told Vietnam to ready to postpone the games if the deadly SARS virus outbreak drags on, however OCM secretary Sieh Kok Chi said there is no need to postpone the December 5-13 Games over SARS concerns. AFP PHOTO/Hoang DINH Nam
HANOI (AFP) The secretary of the Olympic
Council of Malaysia, Sieh Kok Chi, has told Vietnam there is no
need to postpone December's Southeast Asian Games over SARS concerns,
state media said last Thursday.
Sieh flew into the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City for two days
of talks that began Thursday with regional officials on whether
to go ahead with the Games following the outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
"Seeing is believing. Before coming to Vietnam, I thought of proposing that Vietnam postpones the Games until March or April next year due to the SARS outbreak. But when I arrived here, I found the situation was very good," he was quoted as saying by the Thanh Nien newspaper.
Sieh said Malaysia would send 630 athletes to compete in the regional Games.
He could not be immediately contacted to confirm the comments.
Last week Sieh had warned that he would ask Vietnam at the meeting to draw up contingency plans, including a possible postponement of the 5-13 December Games, the first to be held in the country.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has killed five people and infected 63 in Vietnam, but the World Health Organisation has said it appears to be under control in the country.