The BA of Malaysia (BAM) is reluctant to host the Malaysia Open in November as will be a costly affair.
BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, however, said a decision will be made jointly with the World Badminton Federation (BWF) as it is a global event.
“What we are going through now … it’s unprecedented. Whether we will host the Malaysian Open (or not), we will monitor the situation and make this announcement with BWF,” Goh said during talk show The RSS with HD over the weekend.
“The Malaysia Open is part of the global circuit and we need to look at it globally.
“For us, we are a bit reluctant to organise it.”
The Malaysia Open was rescheduled from March 31 to April 5 to Nov 24-29 after the government imposed a partial lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Goh said several factors would be considered in reaching a decision on hosting the annual tournament. These include the strict observation of physical distancing and other standard operating procedures (SOPs) drawn up by the government which will eventually see organisation costs balloon.
“We’re (also) still not too sure about border controls. The Recovery Movement Control Order ends on Aug 31. We don’t know what the government will do next.”
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to make an announcement regarding the RMCO this week. The Health Ministry had on Sunday recommended that the RMCO be extended.
There has also been talk of a general election later this year.
To that, Goh said: “In life there are two things. There are things that are within our control and some that are beyond our control. The pandemic, whether the government will call for an election, whether the (number of) coronavirus (cases) will take a dip or if the numbers will spike, all these we can’t control.
“It’s difficult for us to say how these elements will affect us. But there are things within our control – training of the players, planning their programmes.
“We are focusing on what’s within our control. As long as BWF suspends its World Tours, we will organise more internal tournaments.”
Catch the full episode of the show on YouTube (The RSS). Hosted by actor Rashid Salleh and Twentytwo13 editor Haresh Deol, the weekly talk show is aired at 4pm every Sunday.
