Interfaith event guidelines: PM Anwar says Cabinet to discuss tomorrow

Interfaith event guidelines: PM Anwar says Cabinet to discuss tomorrow



Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reprimanded those who stirred controversy over ethnic groups celebrating each other’s festivals, asserting that Malaysia should exemplify strong racial unity. — Bernama pic

Thursday, 06 Feb 2025 5:04 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, Feb 6 — The Cabinet is set to discuss the contentious guidelines on Muslim participation in non-Muslim events during its meeting tomorrow, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed today.

Anwar provided a brief response when approached by the media in Putrajaya, stating that the matter would be deliberated at the meeting, according to a report published in Malaysiakini today.

The guidelines, announced in a parliamentary reply by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar yesterday, propose that events involving Muslims at non-Islamic places of worship require prior approval from religious authorities and must not include elements that could be deemed offensive to Muslim sensitivities.

The announcement sparked criticism, with Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan cautioning that such regulations could complicate matters for Muslim lawmakers attending interfaith events.

Last week, Anwar had reprimanded those who stirred controversy over ethnic groups celebrating each other’s festivals, asserting that Malaysia should exemplify strong racial unity.

Meanwhile, at a separate event in Putrajaya today, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, who previously faced backlash over Muslim participation in non-Muslim celebrations during Christmas, declined to comment on the proposed guidelines.

“Today is about muhibah (togetherness) and Madani,” he said when approached at his ministry’s Chinese New Year celebration.

Elsewhere, PKR lawmaker Tan Kar Hing called for continued efforts to uphold harmony and interfaith understanding, as exemplified by national leaders including Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and the Madani government.

“I observe that our national leaders today, including the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, and our Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim), consistently emphasise in their speeches, official statements, and actions that they truly understand the religious beliefs of all Malaysians and the interfaith understanding we have upheld over the years.

“This is something we should encourage and incorporate into our daily lives as a multicultural society,” he said during a press conference in Parliament today.

In 2019 and 2023, Sultan Ibrahim was reported to have attended Thaipusam celebrations at a Hindu temple in Johor, reinforcing his commitment to interfaith unity.