KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysia government was looking at a smaller scale of the country's National Day celebration following the increasing cases of A/H1N1 flu, a Malaysian official said here on Thursday.

    Malaysian Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said before launching the Kuala Lumpur 2009 National Flag program that the venue for the celebration might also move to the Parliament House.

    Initially the celebration was planned to be held at the National Stadium at Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur.

    Rais said after receiving advice from Malaysian Health Ministry, the Malaysian government decided to avoid crowded gatherings.

    Should there be obstacles in using the Parliament House as the celebration point, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building would be the second choice, added Rais.

    The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is a landmark in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. It was built in the late 20th century, housing British administration departments.

    In front of the building lies the Dataran Merdeka, literally the Independence Square. The area between the building and the square was where the country's National Day celebrations were held most.

    Coincidentally, the country's National Day in 2009 falls in the same month with the Ramadhan or the fasting month of Muslims.

    Rais said scaling down the celebrations was also a kind of respect to the Muslims.

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