PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's King, Sultan Muhammad V, on Thursday (Aug 30) cancelled his Sept 9 official birthday celebrations and the royal tea reception.

In a statement, Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz vowed that the allocated funds would be returned to the government via the Tabung Harapan Malaysia.

"His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V expresses his gratitude to the Government who had planned the official events in conjunction with his official birthday celebration for 2018," the statement read.

The statement, however, went on to state that the other events in conjunction with the King's birthday would go on as planned.