{
  "id": 4657870,
  "title": "Ex-PMs not automatically invited for National Day, says ministry",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/ex-pms-not-automatically-invited-for-national-day-says-ministry-4657870",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T13:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/31/ex-pms-not-automatically-invited-for-national-day-says-ministry"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The communications ministry has clarified that former prime ministers are not automatically invited to National Day celebrations. Abdul Halim Hamzah, the secretary-general of the communications ministry who also chairs the secretariat for this year's celebrations, stated that there are specific procedures in place for extending invitations to such events. According to Halim, an application by the concerned party is required to arrange any former leader's attendance, in line with established protocols for handling official invitations.\n\nThis clarification follows an incident where Dr Mahathir Mohamad's son, Mukhriz, shared a photo of his father attending the National Day celebration in Putrajaya. Mukhriz's post on Facebook indicated that his father had attended the event despite not receiving an invitation. The photo was shared earlier this morning.",
  "summary": "The clarification follows questions over Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attendance at today’s celebration in Putrajaya.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}