Nasir said the 677 athletes who represented Malaysia at the biennial games had fought hard, adding that the haul of 34 gold, 45 silver and 96 bronze medals was the best they could do.

“I humbly apologise. The 40-gold target was something we hoped for but couldn’t achieve.

“But winning 34 gold medals was also a great feat. I am confident that we can improve on it,” he told reporters here.

The Malaysian contingent recorded their worst performance since collecting a total of 31 gold medals in the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Malaysia finished in seventh place, their lowest ever, after occupying sixth place in the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, last year.

Nasir reiterated that the 40-gold target was a realistic one, adding that it was set after three rounds of meetings.

He did not think that a lack of preparation was the reason for the national contingent’s failure to achieve the target.

Nasir said youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh, together with Olympic Council of Malaysia president Norza Zakaria, will hold a press conference on Friday to talk about the performance of the Malaysian contingent.

He said a detailed analysis of the Malaysian team’s performance would also be carried out.