Commonwealth or Common Wealth? A Relic of the Past or a New Hope for the Future?

The 1998 Commonwealth Games held in my home city of KL holds some precious memories for me. Firstly, it was a daunting undertaking for a small nation like Malaysia to host a global sporting event. Oddly enough, Malaysia once had a ‘Buy British Last’ policy. My elderly (now late) mother was as excited as a school-girl, bought tickets and traversed the city on her own on the new trains to watch synchronised (artistic) swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Not that she was a particular fan of those sports - those were the only tickets she could get hold of and it was an opportunity she was not going to pass up on.

In 1998 Malaysia was also gripped by an economic crisis. One end of the city was caught up with the reformasi protests, on the other end of the city Malaysian athletes were poised for sporting glory. I was at the other end of the ‘city with my bestie in the throes of Reformasi sprinting down the old Mountbatten Road chased by the police. Eventually, I did make it, later to watch some rugby. The All-Blacks featuring the legendary Jonah Lomu took the gold medal. Australia with David Campese among their ranks took the bronze. It was a sporting spectacle worthy of the occasion and Reformasi or not, I was not going o miss it for anything. My colleagues at Leo Burnett help build a tremendous Entertainment Village at the Main Games centre which I enjoyed visiting as much as the young families who were out there in droves.?

Yesterday, the Government of Malaysia decided NOT to host the Games. Funny how things have changed. In 1998 Mahathir’s Malaysia attempted to ‘stand in the eyes of the world’ by hosting the Commonwealth Games. Anwar was thrown behind bars and beaten. Today he is the Prime Minister.?

Economic Boon Or Bane

In this instance the Games comes with a sweetener of ￡100 million and without the need to spend another ￡27million to make the bid or pay the Economic Development fee.?Is this the proverbial poisoned chalice? The 1998 Games finances were mired in controversy, and opaque to some who asked for it. Sporting events have bankrupted some cities but some have thrived at the opportunity and the economic benefits. The case against hosting is clear : a cost of living crisis, potential cost overruns costing the tax-payer, shrinking sponsorship dollars,budget deficits,scarcity of funds , preparedness of the athletes and some lamentable sporting venues badly in need of maintenance, repair and overhaul. At some point the authorities would need to upgrade the facilities and a not insignificant amount of money will still have to be spent to upkeep, or if Malaysia decides to bid for the Asian Games.

There is always a spark, and a spring in the step of citizens when a city decides to host a major sporting event. Advocates for the Games however are ruing the lost opportunity.?Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Do we need to build a Games Village to accommodate the participants when there are tens of thousands of hotel rooms in the Klang Valley in an industry badly in need of rejuvenation? Can the various shopping malls suffering for customers be used as Games hubs instead of building a centralised location costing millions? I ran my wheelchair at lunchtime from end to the other - a good hundred metres at full-speed knowing that due to the sparseness of shoppers that I was not going to hit anyone? With a shorter deadline perhaps the CGF should not hold not as many events as is the convention and add new ones like e-sports and others which reward youth creativity to mark the change to a new generation of sports people.?In 1998 crony capitalism was its height. While Malaysia is not completely rid of it, excelling in some further gold-medal winning endeavours such as kleptocracy. The new Unity government had before it another gold-medal winning opportunity to run the Games this time with transparency, integrity, less wastage and better costing with effective management, organisation and leadership.?

A Relic of the Past or A New Hope for the Future?

Once the Empire Games, is it time to put this colonial beast to rest? Or does it require a complete rebranding to give it new meaning to make it relevant for today? There are thousands of families comprising of athletes who look forward to seeing their loved ones competing in these Games, for whom it is an important event. One which is totally relevant to their dreams and hopes of excelling and perhaps winning a medal. Victoria promised ‘ A Games like no other, in A Place like no other.’ Sadly that is not going to happen to the disappointment of many athletes and their families. The?Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" which means "Faster, Higher, Stronger" embodying its athletic ambitions. The Commonwealth Games however embraced more to include Humanity, Equality and a Common Destiny. This is about the athletes, not some of their wretched governments. The world champions in cricket, rugby and lawn-bowls are from the Commonwealth. Cricket did not make the cut for the Olympics neither did squash, lawn bowls or bowling - sports which Malaysia and many other Commonwealth nations excel at. Women’s sports given short shrift at the Olympics can be given much needed opportunities at the Common Wealth Games. With more countries obtaining a world ranking, is it not time for takraw to make its debut as an exhibition sport?? Sports unites and the Common Wealth Games can be a beacon for the future shedding its colonial past to build a new world order for Friendship and Unity led by Sports icons and ambassadors like Mo Farah, South Africa’s World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi, women’s footballer Sam Kerr and our own Nicol David?- all of whom are from Commonwealth nations. With 72 nations?and territories with a total population of 2.5 billion people with unlimited potential and breath-taking diversity can certainly make a stand in spite of some atrocious governments and horrific wars being waged in two arenas.?For many countries and athletes winning an?Olympic gold medal will remain a distant dream for which the Commonwealth Games will provide the only hope to compete and win.

Gray Rhinos and White Elephants?

Some have bemoaned the lack of preparation time for both the athletes, organisers and venue operators. Athletes are already in constant preparation- for the Paris Olympics and many international events. Is 2026 going to put the skids on their sporting ambitions? Some outdoor venues would have suffered some ‘maintenance issues’ but the other venues including the indoor arena’s surely should be up to it. I mean what the hell to they do the rest of the time except host sporting events. It’s akin to breeding a white elephant instead of anticipating the gray rhino.

The Queen’s (now the King’s) Baton relay which is a feature of the Games may not happen unless another city or country decides to host the Games. Perhaps Singapore with its experience of hosting the Youth Olympic Games, F1 and Taylor Swift ? I wait with bated breath. In 1998 the Queen’s Baton was in the form of a Gobek (areca-nut pounder) made of silver and gold. Amidst the opinions of critics, naysayers and worthy analysts, I found the words of the erudite Dr.Ramlan Aziz , former DG of the National Sports Council resonating with many. “Are we a nation of low-hanging fruit-pickers. Do we want everything to be easy so that nothing challenges us ? How are to progress as a nation if we are afraid to take up challenges”.

For my money it is not the government of the day which should decide. They would be too caught up in the politics of the day and too scared of its critics. A sprawling metropolitan city like KL should be governed by an elected mayor answerable to ratepayers. Together they should make a decision on what is economically beneficial for the city.? #malaysiaboleh.

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