KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin has clarified that she was not paid to perform at the Health Ministry’s Hari Raya open house on Tuesday, saying she was there purely as a guest.
Taking to Instagram Stories, the national songstress made it clear she was there as a guest — not a hired act.
“I sang to show appreciation to MOH staff — out of goodwill, and without payment,” she wrote.
The “Aku Bidadari Syurgamu” singer said she felt compelled to speak up as her name was being dragged into an online storm.
“I don’t want more people fuelling the fire just because my name was mentioned in reports about the event.
“As I said, I didn’t ask for any payment. I attended as a guest and sang voluntarily.
“This clarification matters — don’t use my name or image in news that isn’t accurate,” she added.
The event, however, drew heavy backlash from the healthcare fraternity, netizens and politicians alike.
According to The Star, many criticised the inclusion of high-profile celebrities like Siti and Datuk Jamal Abdillah, arguing it stood in stark contrast to the ongoing struggles faced by healthcare workers.
Pressure group Hartal Doktor Kontrak also slammed the ministry’s leadership, accusing them of being out of touch.
“The Health Ministry staff are happy, even though their on-call or overtime allowance is very low, claims get rejected all the time, equipment cannot be purchased due to the lack of allocations, but at least the ministry’s top management can have fun with famous artistes,” the group wrote in a Facebook post.
