Zahid, who is also the Umno president, said official government events must take into account the sensitivities of Muslims, adding that the serving of alcohol at such events has never been part of official government programmes before and must be rejected.

“Of course, we must reject and disagree with (what happened). Malaysia is a Muslim country, even though we respect the practice of other religions and cultures. This was a government event.

“As Umno president, (I say that) we reject this 100%,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying in Johor Bahru on Sunday.

On Saturday, tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing distanced the ministry from Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin’s claim that alcohol was served at a government-hosted dinner, saying it was organised by industry players.

However, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari argued that because the event appeared on Tourism Malaysia’s official website and was scheduled as part of the official programme, the government must still bear responsibility.

Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin also accused Tiong of misleading the public in an Instagram story, showing an excerpt of the invitation letter listing Tourism Malaysia as the organiser.

In a statement to FMT yesterday, Tiong insisted that industry players had taken over the gala dinner, saying that while Tourism Malaysia was initially the organiser, private sector players saw an opportunity to secure substantial business deals.

“Recognising this opportunity, they voluntarily offered to take over and host the gala dinner themselves,” he said.

He said Tourism Malaysia’s director-general had sought his approval for the change, which he granted as it would also help reduce government expenditure.