National Day secretariat: Automatic invitations for ex-PMs stopped since 2018

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — The National Day Celebration 2026 Secretariat clarified that invitations to the National Day celebrations are no longer automatically granted to former prime ministers, starting from 2018. This clarification came after queries arose about former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's participation in yesterday's event held at Dataran Putrajaya.

Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah, the Chairman of the 2026 National Day and Malaysia Day Celebration Working Committee and Secretary-General of the Communications Ministry, explained that the process of sending invitations for major official Federal Government events is handled by the Prime Minister’s Department's Protocol and International Conference Secretariat Division (BIUPA).

He elaborated that while the attendance of former leaders is not blocked, they must apply for it following the established protocols. Later, the Secretariat informed that Dr Mahathir's request for the Overseas Rest Facility, claiming he would be abroad from Aug 28 to 31, 2026, was approved by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim following the guidelines of the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act 1980 [Act 237].