Siti Nurhaliza said she attended the celebration as a guest, not as an artiste invited to perform, and that she sang as her way of expressing her gratitude to health ministry staff.

“I do not want more people to spread slander. As I have explained, I did not ask for any payment. I came as a guest and sang of my own free will.

“I think this explanation is important so that people will not make comments or spread my name or pictures with information that is not accurate,” she said in an Instagram post.

The Hari Raya do, also attended by singer Jamal Abdillah, had drawn flak from netizens who accused the health ministry of holding a lavish celebration while healthcare workers “suffered” with low wages and on-call allowances despite being overworked.