KUALA LUMPUR — Former national swimming icon Nurul Huda Abdullah has been appointed as Malaysia’s chef de mission (CDM) for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, which will take place from December 9 to 20.
Nurul Huda, who was recently elected vice-president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), will be supported by three deputies: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh, former national sprinter Nazmizan Muhammad, and ex-hockey player Jivan Mohan.
“The selection of the chef de mission and deputy chefs de mission was made in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Council to ensure the most capable and experienced leaders guide the Malaysian contingent to success,” according to a statement issued by OCM today.
OCM also expressed confidence that the leadership team will inspire athletes to strive for excellence, uphold the spirit of sportsmanship, and make the nation proud in Bangkok.
Nurul Huda remains a towering figure in Malaysian sports. She represented the country at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and still holds the record for the most medals won by a Malaysian athlete at the SEA Games — an extraordinary 32 in total, including 22 gold, 8 silver and 2 bronze, collected across the 1985, 1987 and 1989 editions.
She is also the first — and to date, only — Malaysian female swimmer to medal at the Asian Games, securing two silver and two bronze medals at the 1986 edition in Seoul.
Her accolades include being named Malaysia’s Sportswoman of the Year for five consecutive years from 1985 to 1989, receiving the International Olympic Committee’s “Women in Sports” trophy in 1987, and being inducted into the OCM Hall of Fame in 2004.
With her appointment, Nurul Huda follows in the footsteps of another national great, former track queen Datuk Marina Chin, who served as CDM during the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. — July 7, 2025