Malaysia at the 2021 SEA Games

Datuk Haji Hamidin Haji Mohd Amin, President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was initially appointed as the delegation's Chef de Mission on 9 March 2021.[3] However, he resigned to focus on his responsibilities as deputy president of Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), and was replaced by Malaysian Karate Federation (MAKAF) secretary-general, Datuk Paduka Nur Azmi Ahmad for the position on 14 September 2021.[4]

On 29 December 2021, the OCM Selection Committee under the Chairmanship of OCM President Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Norza Zakaria held a meeting to discuss the selection criteria for the 2021 Southeast Asian Games and decided that:

• For individual sports, athletes must be at least in the top three of their respective events to qualify as Category A, and top six as Category B (reduced from top eight due to tightened criteria);
• For team sports, a team needs to be in top four to be considered under Category A;
• The Committee will utilise competitions from 2018 to February 2022 as basis for selection; And,
• The deadline for entry by name will be on 12 March 2022.[5]

On 23 April 2022, the OCM announced diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri to be the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony and unveiled a new set of apparel for the national delegation sponsored by Yonex-Sunrise and made from TruVapor, a type of multi-groove micropolyester fibre which absorbs and dispels sweat quickly; subsequently lowering body temperature.[6]

During the flag handover ceremony at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur on 27 April 2022, Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu announced the 146-medal target for the delegation, which consists of 36 gold, 35 silver and 75 bronze medals.[7] Several factors were taken into consideration when setting the target, such as the lack of events which the national delegation is capable of winning medals, as well as the constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the postponement and cancellation of many tournaments worldwide.[8]