In a brief statement, the council said it only covered costs involving athletes, coaches, MSN officials, the National Sports Institute and the operations of the “Malaysia House” at the Paris Games.

“The costs of the OCM delegation and their respective guests were footed by the OCM itself and the relevant parties. No government funds were involved,” it said.

Social media users recently questioned the presence of OCM president Norza Zakaria’s wife and son, who were photographed sitting with him during the badminton men’s doubles play-off for the bronze medal.

In response, the OCM said top officials attending the Olympics were allowed to bring guests under special accreditation cards, which were a separate matter from the accreditation granted to the Malaysian contingent, including coaches and support staff.

These special accreditation cards were allocated to the OCM president and secretary-general, each with accompanying guests, it said.

“Above all, it doesn’t involve any government funding,” the OCM had said.