As Kuala Lumpur prepares to host the 29th SEA Games next month, Southeast Asian spectators are looking forward to watching athletes competing for their countries in the region's popular biennial multi-sport event.
Though the SEA Games has a relatively long history, dating back to the first Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP Games) in 1959, and sports is considered one of the earliest areas of cooperation in Southeast Asia, the competition has attracted a lot of criticism and controversy in recent years.
This year, host Malaysia has come under fire for its novel approach to the group stage of the football competition. Essentially, it is saying that the host nation is free to decide what group it wants to compete in after all of the other competitors have been drawn. Not surprisingly, this unusual interpretation sparked widespread criticism and protests from fellow competitors and spectators, with some sides even threatening to boycott the games.
In principle, the SEA Games is an institutionalised sporting competition as it is held under the regulations of the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) and supervised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
It is also unique in the sense that, although the SEAGF Charter indicates that every SEA Games shall consist of a minimum 22 sports, there is no exact limit on the number of competitive events a host can include. This means the host country is free to drop or introduce other sports no matter how popular or local they are. The charter, though, actually states that priority or preference should be given to those sports that are already included in the Olympic Games and the Asian Games.
In addition, the host nation is also free to allocate the number of medals to the list of sports that will be contested. On many occasions in the past, these norms have been exploited by host nations as ways to help them win more medals.
Using strategies to maximise medal counts and advantages for the host country has been a major problem for almost every SEA Games in recent decades. Kuala Lumpur has been no exception. In February last year, the organising committee for the 29th SEA Games announced that eight athletic events -- men's and women's marathons, 10,000m and 3,000m men's and women's steeplechase, men's decathlon and women's heptathlon -- would be excluded from the provisional list of 2017 SEA Games events. Athletics are listed as compulsory sports in the charter.
Some quick internet research reveals a possible reason behind such a move: Malaysia did not win any medals in these events in the previous three SEA Games. However, Kuala Lumpur organisers are not alone when it comes to such manipulation.
The Thai women's sepak takraw doubles team competes against Myanmar (main picture) and the Thai volleyball team takes on Indonesia (inset) during the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in 2015. Photo: Chanat Katanyu
For example, the 2011 SEA Games hosted by Indonesia saw the first appearance of roller skating in which Indonesia managed to sweep all 12 gold medals. The organisers also added other non-Olympic sports to inflate the host country's medal total to 182 golds. That compares with just 64 in 2013 and 47 in 2015.
Similarly, in the 2013 SEA Games, Myanmar won six out of the eight gold medals on offer by introducing its indigenous sport chinlone to the event. In 2007, Thailand adopted a similar tactic by adding new categories of sepak takraw, in which it excels, and using a new kind of ball in the competitions, resulting in winning nearly all the medals available. As the Southeast Asia Globe noted: "Throughout the history of the SEA Games, it has been fairly standard practice for host nations to weight the events on offer in their favour."
Aside from manipulation of events by host countries, reports have emerged from time to time about other problems including wrongful judging, match-fixing, bribes relating to tenders for the construction of sporting facilities, as well as some disrespectful fan behaviour such as jeering and spitting at opponents.
All of these infractions take place for the sole purpose of maximising the home side's chances of winning medals or being number one in the medal standings. They have cast a negative shadow, resulting in a growing perception that the SEA Games are no longer about fair play.
As the list of events keeps changing all the time, there is a risk that the SEA Games will become less competitive, less interesting and less popular in the eyes of the public. The standard of athletics in the region will be lowered. This in turn could discourage young performers, who could lose an important platform to gauge their capabilities and build up confidence and experience before breaking into bigger events.
In the political sphere, some Southeast Asian countries have historical rivalries and animosities that go back decades or centuries, and such feelings never seem to go away. They see their neighbours as rivals, which can be evidenced in the way these countries host international events, or the way their citizens follow or take part in those events. Thus, national interests and nationalist sentiment always come before understanding and friendly relations toward neighbouring countries.
The SEA Games may no longer be a showcase for raising the region's standard of athletics or promoting co-operation and inculcating a better spirit of understanding and friendship. It is not a symbol of unity among Southeast Asian countries anymore. In fact, hosting international sporting events tends to focus on other immense advantages and opportunities such as tourism, international profile, infrastructure and facilities, enthusiasm and many other economic benefits.
If Southeast Asian countries cannot jump across national interests for the sake of regional community, it is worthless to hold the games.
Pattharapong Rattanasevee is a lecturer at Burapha University in Chon Buri.