Khairy controversially competed for the Malaysian polo team at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games even though the team secured a gold medal in the men's team polo event winning over Thailand. Somehow his credibility and contribution of the national polo team were questioned and had raised the dissatisfaction from Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar who even challenged him to play against his Johor state polo team. The event had led to Khairy seeking and granted an audience with the sultan at the palace.