The IOC vowed to ban countries from hosting major events if they refuse to allow athletes from certain countries to compete for political reasons.
It followed the government’s refusal to grant Israeli squash players visas for the Men’s World Team Squash Championship in Malaysia this month.
Malaysia does not recognise Israel and is firm in its decision to deny entry to Israeli athletes.
In 2019, the country was stripped of the right to host the World Para Swimming Championships for threatening to turn away Israeli athletes.
In a letter obtained by the Jerusalem Post, the IOC also referred to the Serbian government’s decision to prevent Kosovo, with whom it has no diplomatic ties, from competing at the World Boxing Championships in Belgrade in October and November.
Observers say the government must urgently decide if it wants to host world-class sporting events or face sports isolation.
Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Norza Zakaria said a paper would be presented to the Cabinet stating the implications of defying the IOC warning.
“I take the concern of the IOC seriously and will put up a strong case to the government to ensure we make the right decision,” he said.
The ruling, he said, meant international sports federations had to ensure the participation of all countries in their tournaments.
He said the government’s stand should correspond with Malaysia’s image on the international sporting stage.
Norza said even before the squash issue, he had sought input from all the stakeholders for a decision to be made by the Cabinet.
The IOC said they would work with the national Olympic committees in Malaysia and Serbia to reach a solution with their governments.
The IOC letter stated that if there was no shift in their policies, both countries would “unfortunately exclude themselves from the right to host international sports events until all the necessary assurances can be obtained and respected”.
International federations were urged to be “extremely vigilant when allocating and organising international sports competitions.”
Heads of sports federations were told to receive written assurances from the governments hosting tournaments that all eligible athletes and teams will be able to compete and be treated equally without any political discrimination.