YOUTH and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar was tight-lipped on criticisms leveled against him by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim for not attending the Malaysia Cup Final on May 20.

“I have already answered that question,” Khairy said during a press conference this evening after officiating the new National Velodrome of Malaysia in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

He also refused to entertain questions if he was attending an event by the territorial army as claimed by the crown prince of Johor during the Cup final.

Malaysiakini had earlier quoted Khairy as saying that “there is no benefit that can come from me answering the issue” at an earlier event in Parliament today.

Khairy was lambasted by Tunku Ismail, colloquially known as TMJ, for not attending the football match between Kedah and Pahang, which Kedah won 3-2.

TMJ had posted on Facebook that Khairy should be at the match instead of an event with the territorial army as he is the youth and sports minister and many had asked for his whereabouts.

“If the territorial army programme is more of a priority, then it would have been better for him (Khairy) to be a territorial soldier than a youth and sports minister,” the crown prince had said in the post on the Johor Southern Tigers football team’s Facebook page. – May 25, 2017.