She said this approach aligns with recommendations by experts from the Nippon Sports Science University, and has long been practised by countries like Japan, South Korea, Iran, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

“Setting a gold medal target puts excessive pressure on athletes to deliver their best performance at international sporting events.

“The final overall medal target will be determined later through a joint discussion between the ministry, the National Sports Council, the National Sports Associations, and the Olympic Council of Malaysia, as athlete registrations for the event remain open until September,” she told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Yeoh was responding to a question from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) regarding Malaysia’s targets and preparations for the biennial event to be held in Thailand.

Yeoh said several key sports are expected to contribute significantly to Malaysia’s medal tally at this year’s games, including diving, track cycling, hockey, archery, shooting, sailing, squash, and tenpin bowling.

However, she said the removal of diving, cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, e-sports, and pencak silat would impact the overall medal count.

“The introduction of new events will give Thailand, as the host, an advantage by including competitions that favour their athletes,” she said.

Among the reinstated events in the 2025 SEA Games are the 20km race walk and the men’s and women’s 3,000m steeplechase, which bring the total number of gold medals up for grabs in athletics to 47.

Yeoh said the Southeast Asian Games Federation had agreed to standardise the number of sports contested in the next three SEA Games with those featured in the Olympic Games.

“So the baseline is that Olympic sports will not be removed, ensuring consistency. However, other events will remain at the discretion of the host nation,” she said.