In a statement, he ensured that the field would be used accordingly for sports activities, adding that his ministry would work closely with Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) for the purpose.

He thanked Tunku Ismail for agreeing to sponsor the replanting of the grass at the National Stadium.

“The sponsorship is to ensure that the National Stadium has a field that is able to be used for international matches, which is meaningful to all local football fans, especially to the national players,” he said.

He said this was especially so as the field at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium used by JDT had been proven to be of international standard and well-maintained.

Faizal, in a tweet, also denied a news portal report that the ministry would decide on the type of grass to be planted at the National Stadium, adding that he had asked the portal to make a correction to the title of the article.

“Everybody knows Tunku Ismail’s intention for sponsoring the replanting of the grass at the National Stadium, but I never mentioned that we (the ministry) would be determining the type of grass to be planted,” he said.

He was commenting on a Bernama article “National Stadium: Ministry appreciates TMJ’s sponsorship offer but no black and white yet”.

Earlier, Tunku Ismail tweeted that he was sincere in sponsoring the cost of planting the new grass at the National Stadium.

He also said that he would be inspecting the National Stadium on March 19, apart from sharing the cost as well as maintenance of the new grass, which is expected to cost not more than RM240,000 a year.

Last Thursday, Tunku Ismail, through a statement on the Southern Tigers Facebook page, said the Zeon Zoysia type of grass would be used, just like the one at the JDT-owned Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.

JDT, through a social media update later said Tunku Ismail had already signed a cheque for the work to replace the grass, with the assistance of the Malaysian Stadium Corporation (PSM).