Malaysia, the host of the 29th SEA Games, appears well on its way to getting what it wants most -- a huge trove of medals to top the table. However, it remains to be seen whether the expressed wish of the organisers -- to create unity and promote integration -- will be met.
Khairy Jamaluddin, Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister, declared in June that this year's Games would be special since 2017 marks Asean's 50th anniversary. The event, he said, offered a chance to showcase how Asean has grown as a region.
"I chose the theme 'Rising Together' because this (year) is 50 years of Asean and it's important that we celebrate the coming of age of a region that is more confident, has come further because we are together, because we are more integrated now ... so hopefully it is a celebration for all of us," he said.
Like any huge sports event featuring many nations, the SEA Games is no stranger to controversy. Some controversies this year have taken on unpleasant racial and nationalist overtones. Things got off to a bad start when the hosts amazingly managed to print the Indonesian flag upside down. There was a news report about two Myanmar fans being beaten up at football match against Malaysia, and home supporters were criticised for calling Singaporeans "dogs". That followed some ill-chosen comments by Olympic gold-medal swimmer Joseph Schooling of Singapore, who said he hoped to "teach a lesson" to Malaysia. He later apologised.
The quality of the sporting competition itself can also be questionable. The SEA Games are unique in that there is no official limit on the number of sports, and the host can add or drop sports to maximise medal yields. For example, Malaysia in 2001 introduced petanque and netball, while Thailand in 2007 added sepak takraw and futsal. The Philippines, needless to say, introduced baseball in 2005. In 2011, Indonesia introduced paragliding and wall climbing.
But Myanmar won the gold for hilarity in 2013 by adding 14 esoteric sports -- nine them martial arts -- while popular events such as tennis, gymnastics and water polo were dropped. The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia all protested. Myanmar reportedly dropped beach volleyball because "the sport's outfits were not suitable for Myanmar culture".
In 2015, Singapore dropped karate, weightlifting and wrestling while adding floor-ball, a Europe-originated sport popular only in Singapore. Needless to say, Malaysia has dropped floor-ball this year.
To me, these controversies reflect the array of differences within Asean. Disparity on the economic front can even manifest itself in sport. Wealthy countries use sport to display power. Singapore, a trading and financial giant, is now trying to flex its athletic muscle and has climbed to third in this year's SEA Games medal table. Vietnam is making impressive strides and was poised to finish second behind Malaysia. That would drop Thailand, a former champion, to fourth place.
For me, Myanmar has generated the most excitement and has approached these Games with high ambitions. As the event enters its final few days, we have witnessed high levels of emotion and flare-ups of nationalism, especially on the football pitch. As I wrote this column, Thailand finally beat Vietnam and was preparing for a semi-final against Myanmar.
As a rugby fan, I am also following the progress of the Thai women's rugby sevens team. Our team might not be popular in Thailand but it is feared in the region, though Singapore will try hard to dethrone our stars.
Leaving controversies and conflicts aside, the question is whether the Games really bring us closer. Are we more united? Personally, I find the SEA Games reflects the diversity of the region and how we interact and manage our differences.
Interestingly enough, the games itself are older than the Asean bloc. The event was created by a Thai aristocrat, Luang Sukhum Nayaoradit, then vice-president of the Thailand Olympic Committee in 1958, under the name of Southeast Asia Peninsula Games (SEAP Games). At first, there were six founding members -- Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaya (now Malaysia). The first event was staged in Bangkok in 1959 with only 12 sports. Now there are as many as 60, a few of them so esoteric that no one ever heard of them before, such as "chinlone", "sittuyin" and "arnis".
If there is any sporting event that allows a country to truly assert its cultural independence, that event must be the SEA Games. So let the games play on.
