Abang Johari speaks during the opening ceremony of Selangau Riverfront and Selangau District Office building in Sibu on Dec 18, 2023. Photo credit: Sarawak Information Department (JaPen)

By Shikin Louis

SIBU, Dec 18: Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has described the ban on decorating cakes with ‘Merry Christmas’ issue, which emerged in West Malaysia, as a ‘stupid’ matter.

He said he had read a news article in an English daily newspaper today relating to a bakery which was recently under fire after a memorandum it issued to prohibit its staff from decorating cakes with Christmas greetings was circulated on social media.

“Itu buat kuih kasi ‘Merry Christmas’ sana masalah. Itu bodoh punya. (Decorating cakes with ‘Merry Christmas’ was also made into an issue. That is stupid).

“You kasi ‘Merry Christmas’ atas cake, okay lah. Apa salah you decorate? Bukan haram. (You wrote ‘Merry Christmas’ on a cake, it should be okay. What’s wrong with decorating it like that? It is not forbidden),” he said when speaking during the opening ceremony of the Selangau Riverfront and Selangau District Office building today.

Pointing out that the issue happened in West Malaysia, Abang Johari called on Sarawak not to emulate such an issue.

“That is why Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) exited Barisan Nasional (BN). We exited, we formed GPS, and we make our own decisions,” he added. — DayakDaily