KUALA LUMPUR: After a vicious back-and-forth spat over the past week, the feud between the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and Sports Commissioner Suhardi Alias headed into calmer waters as the Sports Ministry entered the picture today.
The Sports Commissioner's Office (SCO) issued a statement this morning expressing their regret over statements they made.
They also confirmed that a meeting would be held between the Sports Ministry and OCM officials to resolve the conflict between the two parties.
"SCO expresses regret over follow-up statements issued following the miscommunication issue between SCO and OCM, which happened recently.
"Subsequently, a meeting between the Sports Ministry and OCM will be held in the near future to explain the true context of this matter.
"The Sports Ministry is confident that this meeting will clear the air and (allow) this miscommunication to be resolved amicably."
Suhardi was also pictured on SCO's Facebook page briefing members of the Sports Dispute Committee, appointed by Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, at his office in Bukit Jalil today.
It, however, unclear whether the meeting had anything to do with the OCM-SCO issue.
The feud between OCM and Suhardi began last week when a leaked audio clip emerged.
Suhardi was heard threatening to deregister OCM, drawing parallel between them and the Israeli government in the clip, which was a short excerpt from a closed meeting with two esport groups on Nov 14.
Suhardi, however, claimed that his remarks regarding OCM in the clip were taken out of context and has since lodged a police report to hold those who spread the clip accountable for causing distress within the sporting community.
It is believed that his comments were made in jest to calm down the two esport parties during the meeting.
OCM were, nevertheless, outraged and issued a number of statements expressing their dissatisfaction. They sought an apology from Suhardi, whose response triggered them into ire even further.