Youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu said he had instructed Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) to appoint a company to carry out the inspection which would cover other facilities such as toilets at the stadium.

“The stadium was built in the ’90s for the 1998 Commonwealth Games. We haven’t conducted structural forensics for a long time, so we want to know if it is still strong or what needs to be done,” he told reporters after closing the Youth Parliament Conference here today.

According to him, after the evaluation report is received, the PSM board of directors will meet to determine the facilities that need to be improved before the matter is submitted to the finance ministry.

Faizal also explained that the stadium would not be completely closed. Some facilities, such as the track, can still be used for the time being while other parts of the stadium are being improved. It was earlier reported that the stadium would be completely closed from yesterday for pitch restoration.

“We are in discussions with some organisers (who have made bookings). For example, the re-turfing is not starting tomorrow, so if you want to hold a concert, you can,” he said.

The condition of the pitch sparked dissatisfaction among several quarters during the Asian Cup qualifiers after a downpour caused water to pool on it before the start of the match between Malaysia and Bahrain on Saturday.

It was even more embarrassing when workers were seen trying to manually scoop stagnant water from the field before the start of the match in full view of the spectators, tarnishing the country’s image on an international stage.