KUALA LUMPUR: The organisers of the "Malay Proclamation" event, which was set to feature former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have encountered another setback as they announced that a second venue has cancelled its booking for the event.
Initially planned to be held at Hotel Impiana KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, the event was cancelled due to technical issues.
The organisers, 'Sekretariat Proklamasi Orang Melayu' then selected a second venue, only to be informed by the management last night that the booking had been cancelled.
"We were not provided with any reason over the cancellation," the secretariat said in a statement.
"We sincerely apologise to the invited guests for changing the location twice. The secretariat will make an announcement soon," the statement read.
Although the second venue was not specified, according to a Malay daily, the event was planned to take place at the Sime Darby Convention Centre located in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Mahathir was expected to attend the event in his personal capacity and not as a representative of Putra , the political party he recently joined after stepping down from Pejuang, which he founded.
The event follows Dr Mahathir's recent claim that Malays no longer dominate the country's politics and economy.
In 2019, when he was the prime minister leading the Pakatan Harapan government, he attended the Malay Dignity Congress and denied allegations that it was racially-motivated, stating that no speeches criticised non-Malays.
The Sekretariat Proklamasi Orang Melayu had previously said the "Malay proclamation" event is not political in nature and aims to discuss issues related to the Malay community.