A letter sent in January surfaced only at last Thursday’s meeting, prompting questions over delays, limited disclosure and missed chances for earlier action.
The delay has now raised questions over how such a serious issue was handled.
Sources said the world body sent the letter in January. The council, however, only discussed it at a meeting last Thursday despite having two earlier sessions.
That gap has unsettled several members.
They questioned why the matter was not tabled earlier, given its implications for the presidency and the federation’s standing with World Athletics.
Deputy president Wan Hisham Wan Salleh read the letter aloud during the meeting.
But council members did not receive copies, sources said, even after some asked for them.
Those handling the matter raised concerns that wider circulation could lead to misinterpretation or leaks, according to people present.
The decision not to share the document has since become a point of friction.
Some members felt they could not fully assess the situation without reviewing the correspondence in detail.
“They needed to see it, not just hear it,” one source said.
The timeline of events has drawn equal scrutiny.
Sources said the secretary-general, Nurhayati Karim, first received the letter before passing it to the federation’s legal adviser.
During the meeting, the legal adviser said she received the letter about two weeks after it arrived.
That explanation did not satisfy everyone.
Some council members believe the delay narrowed their room to respond.
“There was time to sit down and look at this properly,” one source said. “We could have explored options instead of rushing now.”
Nurhayati did not attend Thursday’s meeting, as the matter involves her father, Malaysia Athletics president Karim Ibrahim, and raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest.
Sources said World Athletics had also indicated that the issue should be handled independently of both Karim and Nurhayati, with Wan Hisham taking over as the point of contact.
Malaysia Athletics had already engaged World Athletics during that period, including through a virtual meeting, sources said.
That has raised a key question inside the council: if discussions had already started, why was the eligibility issue not addressed more directly at that stage?
Instead, a small group took charge of the initial response.
Sources said a three-member group was tasked to review the issue and prepare the groundwork.
Some council members now feel a wider discussion could have produced stronger input, especially on legal and governance matters.
The delay has left the federation working against the clock.
World Athletics has asked Malaysia Athletics to respond by April 17 with a clear position on the presidency and a plan to align its constitution with international rules.
A senior official said the council has since moved to formalise its response after Thursday’s meeting.
But the questions over process remain.
Karim has rejected claims that he was banned for life, maintaining that his return followed the Malaysia Athletics’ constitutional provisions.
World Athletics, however, expects member federations to enforce its integrity decisions, including barring individuals it has deemed ineligible.
For some within Malaysia Athletics, the issue now goes beyond the decision itself.
It is about whether the council had enough time—and enough information—to make it.
Wan Hisham declined comment when contacted. - FMT
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