Here's a list of countries that have most frequently hosted the SEA Games. How many times has Indonesia hosted?

The 2023 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), a major sporting event, is currently underway in Cambodia from May 5th to 17th, 2023. This marks the first time Cambodia has hosted this prestigious regional sporting event in Southeast Asia.

According to data from the SEA Games Federation, Malaysia and Thailand are the countries that have most frequently hosted the SEA Games since its inception in 1959, each hosting the event six times. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore have each hosted four times, while Myanmar has hosted three times. Vietnam has hosted twice, and Brunei Darussalam, Laos, and Cambodia have each hosted once.

The following is a list of countries that have hosted the SEA Games from 1959 to 2023:

1. Thailand: December 12-17, 1959
2. Myanmar: December 11-16, 1961
3. Malaysia: September 14-21, 1965
4. Thailand: December 9-16, 1967
5. Myanmar: December 6-13, 1969
6. Malaysia: December 6-13, 1971
7. Singapore: September 1-8, 1973
8. Thailand: December 9-16, 1975
9. Malaysia: December 19-26, 1977
10. Indonesia: September 21-30, 1979
11. Philippines: December 6-15, 1981
12. Singapore: May 28 - June 6, 1983
13. Thailand: December 8-17, 1985
14. Indonesia: December 9-20, 1987
15. Malaysia: August 20-31, 1989
16. Philippines: November 24 - December 3, 1991
17. Singapore: June 12-20, 1993
18. Thailand: December 9-17, 1995
19. Indonesia: October 11-19, 1997
20. Brunei Darussalam: August 7-15, 1999
21. Malaysia: September 8-17, 2001
22. Vietnam: December 5-13, 2003
23. Philippines: November 27 - December 5, 2005
24. Thailand: December 6-15, 2007
25. Laos: December 9-18, 2009
26. Indonesia: November 11-22, 2011
27. Myanmar: December 11-22, 2013
28. Singapore: June 5-16, 2015
29. Malaysia: August 19-30, 2017
30. Philippines: November 30 - December 11, 2019
31. Vietnam: May 12-23, 2022
32. Cambodia: May 5-17, 2023

Controversies at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games

The 2023 Cambodia SEA Games has been marred by several controversies since its opening on Friday, May 5th, 2023. These began with the incident where the flags of several participating countries, including Indonesia, were raised upside down during the pre-opening ceremony.

Further controversies include Indonesian race walker Hendro Yap receiving his gold medal in near darkness due to a lack of lighting on the podium after the race concluded at sunset. He was illuminated only by car headlights. Hendro stated, as quoted by CNN Indonesia on Sunday, May 7th, 2023, that he was "very surprised" by the lack of preparedness shown by the organizers.

There was also an incident where a room occupied by Indonesian women's badminton players in the Phnom Penh athletes' village leaked during heavy rain, forcing three athletes to relocate.

Online discussions have also focused on allegations that the Cambodian badminton team fielded a Chinese athlete, Zhou Meng, competing under the name Chourng Meng.

Most recently, controversy erupted in the pencak silat competition when Cambodian athlete Non Sromoachkroham won gold in the under-45 kg class by walkover (WO) without competing. His opponent, Indonesian athlete Bayu Lesmana, received silver, allegedly due to pressure to concede the match. Videos of a distraught and crying Bayu went viral on social media.