National 100-metre record holder Khairul Hafiz Jantan would like to set the record straight.
He was stopped at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for being a close contact with infected sprinter Haiqal Hanafi, and the former is not Covid-19 positive.
"Yes, I was stopped at KLIA from going to Kazakhstan (to compete in the Qosanov Memorial Championships on June 19-20) but I was not Covid-19 positive, and I did not receive any email from the Health Ministry.
"I would like to set the record straight, because many have been calling me irresponsible and immature which I am not.
"If I had received an email (like Haiqal did) and was really positive, I would not have travelled with the team by bus to KLIA," said Khairul.
Khairul and Haikal had trained together at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School for the Kazakhstan meet, which is a final Olympics qualifier, and travelled to Kuala Lumpur together for the flight.
"When in training, as well as travelling to KL from Johor Baru (on Sunday), we followed SOP and kept our distance.
"Only that I was stopped from entering KLIA because of 'close contact' status."
Khairul, who is now quarantined at the National Sports Council (NSC) hostel, underwent another Covid-19 test and is found to be negative.
"But I will still remain at the NSC hostel until June 23, and another test will be done on June 20," he said.
According to Khairul, Haiqal is recovering from the virus at another venue.
Haiqal and Khairul had done their PCR tests, as required by regulations to fly to Kazakhstan, and only Haiqal was found to be positive.
All the athletes and officials had received their two doses of Covid vaccination, but Haiqal still caught the virus after his grandmother died of Covid-19.