WITH nine days left before the Sea Games, the Main Press Centre and International Broadcast Centre (IBC) have been officially opened.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin launched the centres’ operations at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) here.

“The number of journalists and photographers involved in this year’s Sea Games is nearly three time that of the 2015 Singapore Sea Games,” he said, adding that this showed the high level of interest shown in the 29th edition of the biennial Games hosted by Malaysia.

He urged members of the media to undertake their tasks responsibly, including publishing  reports that were accurate.

Among others, 744 work stations are available to those covering the Games, while IBC will host nine broadcasters from five countries.

During the Games, which will be held from August 19 to 30, 28 sports events will be broadcast live.

MITEC will host eight events, namely artistic gymnastics, fencing, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, indoor hockey, Muay Thai and boxing.

Strategically located in Persiaran Dutamas, MITEC has a built-up area of nearly 140,000 square metres.

It is the country’s largest exhibition space, with 11 halls, and can accommodate up to 40,000 visitors at a time. – Bernama, August 10, 2017.