Ridiculous for Xmas cake greeting to become an issue, says Abang Johari

KUCHING: It is not haram for bakeries to write Christmas greetings on cakes, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The Sarawak Premier said it was ridiculous for festive greetings on cakes to become an issue.

"Today I read in the news that making a cake with 'Merry Christmas' on it is a problem. This is stupid.

"What's wrong with decorating a cake with 'Merry Christmas' on it? This is not haram," he said when opening the riverfront and district office building in Selangau, Sarawak, on Monday (Dec 18).

Abang Johari said the issue happened in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak should not follow suit.

"This is why we left Barisan Nasional and formed Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) - so we can make our own decisions," he added.

Abang Johari's remarks came after reports of an internal memo by a bakery purportedly telling staff not to write "Merry Christmas" on their cakes in order to comply with halal certification requirements by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

In response, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said on Saturday (Dec 16) there were no restrictions on halal certificate holders writing celebratory festive greetings on cakes for customers to take home.

On Monday (Dec 18), Jakim said its 2020 directive banning products containing non-Islamic festive greetings from being displayed was no longer applicable.