The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) is eyeing to move to Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
The decision to move from the current location in Jalan Hang Jebat, in the heart of the city, was made by the board members in 2021.
And OCM is now hoping for a buy-in from the Malaysian government.
“We need the help of the government for the land. The deal with the developer would mean that they will build us a new building and a museum, similar to the International Olympic Council (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland,” said OCM president, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria.
“The IOC headquarters in Switzerland is a green and sustainable building that also houses a museum.
“We need to upgrade our museum and Hall of Fame to allow more Malaysians to visit. Right now, Wisma OCM itself is like a museum … it is too old.”
Norza added that the proposed land swap would mean that the government would not have to fork out any money to build the new headquarters.
He said this after meeting Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh during her brief tour of Wisma OCM, this afternoon.
Yeoh said she received a request from the OCM to help move out of its present location, and decided to visit it to see why there was an urgent need for the organisation to move out of its home of 30 years.
“After visiting Wisma OCM, I agree that the building needs to be updated. We will conduct a feasibility study and take it from there. The final decision lies with the Cabinet,” said Yeoh, who also toured the museum and the Hall of Fame.
She said having the museum in KL Sports City was a good idea, as those who attended concerts in and around the area, would have a new place to “hang out”.
“We need more youths to visit the museum, as they can see our sporting history, but that is impossible at the current venue,” she said.
“We saw that during the concerts in Bukit Jalil, many people arrived early and waited for the gates to open.
“If the museum is there, they would have a place to visit while waiting.”
Talks regarding the sale of the 0.73ha of land, which currently houses Wisma OCM and Hotel Olympic Malaysia, had been going on for some time. According to a valuation carried out in 2020, OCM stood to pocket some RM100 million from the sale of the leasehold land. The lease is set to expire in 2077.
In 2021, OCM decided that its deputy president, Datuk Hamidin Amin, would head a marketing, sponsorship, and relocation committee to find the site for the new headquarters by 2024. The two areas identified were Putrajaya and Bukit Jalil.
Separately, Yeoh said national shuttler Lee Zii Jia contacted her yesterday, to set up a meeting.
Yeoh had volunteered to help the national No. 1, who left the BA of Malaysia (BAM) early last year.
Both Yeoh and Norza, who is also BAM president, said they would do whatever it took to help him regain his form.
Norza said BAM would allow Lee to train with the national team, even if he does not return to the national fold
