Pas Youth Sees Red In Christmas Performance At Ministry Office

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PAS Youth vice-chief Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin has cried foul over what he alleges to be a Christmas carol performance held at the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s headquarters in Putrajaya.
In a Facebook post today, he took issue with a video of the performance where several Muslims are seen among the audience.
Hanif said that the minister in charge, Nga Kor Ming should know that it is haram (forbidden) for Muslims to partake in festivities of other religions that go against the Islamic creed (akidah).
“The video shared by the minister clearly shows there are guests (Muslim staff members) being entertained by the Christmas carolling performance […]
“Muslims are taught to respect the beliefs and practices of other religions, but there are limits to be observed when it involves akidah. Is the minister deliberately trying to challenge Muslims?” he said.
He also cited a page on the Federal Territories Mufti’s Office’s website posted last year, which states that Christmas carols are considered haram and Muslims should keep away from them because of Christian elements in its lyrics that go against Islamic beliefs.
‘Celebrating cultural diversity’
The video was a heavily edited clip lasting about one-and-half minutes posted by Nga on Christmas Eve.
It features staff members of his ministry singing “Jingle Bells” - a song about the thrill of riding on a sleigh through the snow - and the song “We wish you a merry Christmas”.
In his speech, Nga congratulated his staff for making the best-decorated lobby of all the ministries and lauded the diversity of the festivities celebrated there.
He noted that the lobby had been bedecked with Aidilfitri, Deepavali, and Christmas decorations over the past year, and will soon feature Chinese New Year decorations too.
“Today, we celebrate our cultural diversity. We are the first ministry to do this, and we will not be the last,” he said, noting that many of his staff are Christians from Sabah and Sarawak.
“This is the beauty of our nation, and what actually ties us together is love. ‘Malaysia truly Asia’ is not only a slogan, and ‘unity in diversity’ is also not a slogan. It should be our way of life.
Malaysiakini has contacted Nga for comments - Mkini

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