Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin believes there is nothing beneficial in responding to Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's stinging criticism against him.

"I think there is no benefit that can come from me answering the issue."

On Tunku Ismail who told him that he was acting like a "celebrity minister", Khairy again sidestepped the question.

"As I said, I think there is no benefit in me answering the issue," he told reporters after a programme at Parliament today.

The crown prince on Tuesday expressed his unhappiness over Khairy's absence from the Malaysia FA Cup match last Saturday.

Tunku Ismail, who is also Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president, said many had enquired about the minister's whereabouts during the match between Kedah and Pahang at the Shah Alam stadium.

Khairy was purportedly involved with the askar wataniah (territorial army) on the night of the FA Cup match.

“To me, if the territorial army programme is more of a priority (to Khairy), then it would have been better for him to be a territorial soldier than a youth and sports minister,” said the crown prince in the hard-hitting post on the Johor Southern Tigers football team's Facebook page.

Tunku Ismail also said that Khairy should not only attend events where he would be the centre of attention.