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Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah, chairman of the National Day Celebration Working Committee, released a statement on Monday (1 Sept) outlining the reasons Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not receive a VIP invitation to the 31 August Merdeka parade.
Two factors accounted for the absence of an invitation, according to the statement.
Since 2018, former Prime Ministers no longer receive automatic invitations to the National Day parade.
Former leaders may attend but must submit formal applications through established channels to access VIP seating.
The Prime Minister’s Office had also received and approved an official application from Dr Mahathir under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act 1980 for “Facilities for Rest Abroad.”
Government protocol officials were formally notified that Dr Mahathir would be outside Malaysia from 28 to 31 August.
Parade organizers therefore did not anticipate his presence on Merdeka Day.
The Contradiction Emerges
Dr Mahathir’s press secretary Sufi Yusoff has pushed back against the government’s explanation for why the former prime minister was not invited to this year’s National Day celebration.
The government had said that since 2018, former prime ministers are no longer automatically invited to the event, and that attendance must be arranged through a personal application.
But Sufi said records show Dr Mahathir did receive a formal invitation in 2022, during Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration — directly contradicting that claim.
Dr Mahathir did not attend that year due to Covid-19 concerns.
The government also said it had approved a travel facilitation request from Dr Mahathir to be overseas from Aug 28 to 31, and assumed he would be abroad on National Day.
Sufi said that explanation missed the point entirely — the core issue, he maintained, was simple: no invitation was sent.
The issue ends with the fact that the Government did not invite Tun.
Reactions Split Along Familiar Lines
Public opinion on the incident is sharply divided, splitting along lines of cultural respect, political history, and what people actually witnessed on the ground.
Those who sympathised argued that leaving a 101-year-old former prime minister without a reserved seat or shade was simply biadap — disrespectful by Malaysian cultural standards — and that protocol was being selectively used to sideline a political opponent.
Those who felt he brought it on himself pointed out that the policy of not automatically inviting former prime ministers was introduced during Dr Mahathir’s own administration in 2018, widely seen at the time as a move against Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
They also noted that his camp had submitted a travel facilitation request placing him overseas on National Day, leading critics to accuse him of showing up deliberately to manufacture a victim narrative.
Those who were actually there offered a different picture altogether, sharing videos showing that security personnel had escorted his vehicle into restricted zones, allowed him through without queuing, and ensured he was safe during his roughly 15-minute appearance — pushing back against the portrayal of a frail elder left to fend for himself.
A fourth view focused on selective outrage. Some observers noted that public sympathy for Dr Mahathir sat uneasily alongside his own record — pointing to the treatment of other former leaders, political detainees, and critics during his administrations. For this group, the emotional response said less about protocol and more about how quickly Malaysians rally around a familiar face, regardless of history.
READ MORE: [Watch] Dr Mahathir, 101, Skips VIP Section, Sits With Public At Merdeka Parade
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