SHAH ALAM, Aug 8 — Selangor has proposed three additional sports: pétanque, muay thai, and silambam, to be contested at the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma), said state executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship Mohd Najwan Halimi.
The proposal was decided at the Selangor State Executive Council (MMKN) meeting today, following requests from several sports associations.
“Following the recent announcement by the Youth and Sports Minister (Hannah Yeoh), the Sukma Selangor Secretariat received applications from national and state-level sports associations to reconsider the list of additional sports.
“After careful consideration and discussion at the MMKN meeting chaired by the Menteri Besar, we agreed to propose these three sports, which will be brought to the Sukma Supreme Committee Meeting next week.
“This list must be finalised by no later than August 15,” he said during a press conference at the State Secretariat Building.
Najwan, the Sukma 2026 Implementation Committee chairman, added that the proposal to include the three sports came about as there is still room for their development at both the state and national levels.
“A total of 30 core sports are regarded as ‘high-performance sports’ which serve as qualifying grounds for international events like the SEA Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Olympics.
“However, we see that sports like silambam and muay thai have their own following, and which deserve to be given space based on the justifications submitted by the associations,” he said.
At the same time, the councillor emphasised that Selangor’s main objective in hosting Sukma is not solely to emerge as overall champions.
“This hosting is not just about chasing medals or topping the rankings. We want it to be fair, providing opportunities for all athletes to showcase their talents and elevate their performance to a higher level,” Najwan said.
He also took the opportunity to urge all parties to stop politicising sports or playing on racial sentiments.
“Sport is a medium of unity that brings people together across race, religion, and political ideology,” Najwan said.
On July 22, Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari announced that Sukma Selangor 2026 will be held from August 15 to August 24, while Para Sukma will take place from September 5 to September 14.
The upcoming biennial sporting event will involve nine districts and 12 local authorities throughout the state, except for the track cycling event, which will be held at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
Recently, Yeoh announced that four additional sports have been approved for Sukma 2026: e-sports, chess, cricket, and kabaddi.
Meanwhile, boxing and softball have been made compulsory sports, bringing the total number of sports to be contested in Sukma 2026 to 34.
