PM’s office admits to blunder of Raya invite to Anwar

Spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office says the invite was solely for Anwar Ibrahim’s wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

KUALA LUMPUR: The official invitation for a Hari Raya open house by the prime minister to former Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has turned out to be an embarrassing “protocol mistake”.

Speaking to the Malay Mail Online, spokesman from the Prime Minister’s Office Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad confirmed that the invitation was meant solely for Anwar’s wife, Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

“He (Anwar) is in jail…Azizah opp leader. Invitation base(d) on that,” he clarified in a text message to the news portal.

Earlier, the official invitation card was uploaded onto Anwar’s Facebook page and asked the question: “DSAI terima jemputan Rumah Terbuka Raya dari PM. Macam mana? wajib hadir?” (DSAI has received an invitation from the PM to a Raya Open House. Should he attend?)

Currently serving a five-year prison term for sodomy and suffering from ill health, supporters of Anwar came out in full force to discourage him from accepting the invitation, with many leaving nasty comments about the prime minister and Umno.