Malaysia competed in the 1997 Southeast Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 11 to 19 December 1997.
Medal summary
Medals by sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Athletics |
16 | 1 | 0 | 17 | |
 Badminton |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
 Basketball |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
 Gymnastics |
5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | |
 Karate |
2 | 9 | 7 | 18 | |
 Squash |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
 Table tennis |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Total | 55 | 68 | 75 | 198 | 3 |
Medallists
Football
Men's tournament
- Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Indonesia
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 10 |
 Vietnam
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 |
 Laos
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
 Malaysia
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
 Philippines
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 |
Source: [citation needed]
Women's tournament
- Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Myanmar
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Indonesia
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Malaysia
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 |
Source: [citation needed]