PUTRAJAYA: Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar is expected to announce later on Wednesday (Aug 26) whether the scale or venue of the 2026 National Day celebration will be changed due to haze affecting several parts of the country.
Madani government spokesman and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the Cabinet was briefed by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) on the haze affecting the country, including Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Sarawak, which has been significantly affected.
"The Cabinet has therefore tasked the Chief Secretary with consulting all relevant agencies and the Communications Ministry, which is responsible for organising the National Day celebration, to determine whether to change its scale or venue, or proceed at the existing venue, Dataran Putrajaya,” he told the weekly post-Cabinet press conference on Wednesday.
Fahmi said options included scaling down the celebration or moving it to another venue, although the government had no plans to cancel the event scheduled for Aug 31.
He said Dataran Putrajaya remained the original venue, while a proposal to move the celebration indoors would also be considered.
"An indoor venue is one of the proposals, but we will assess its suitability and other considerations. We will await the Chief Secretary’s announcement,” he said.
Fahmi said the decision would also take into account views from the Health and Education ministries, as the celebration involves about 1,500 secondary school students from three states taking part in a human graphic formation.
"Insya-Allah, a decision will be made today,” he said.
The minister said the government has not set an Air Pollutant Index (API) threshold that would automatically trigger changes to the celebration, with a decision to be made after assessments by the relevant ministries and agencies.
The National Day eve celebration, scheduled for Aug 30 at Dataran Merdeka, will also be reviewed amid the haze.
Unhealthy API readings have been reported in 17 areas across Sarawak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Melaka and Perak, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.- Bernama
